Megaman Starforce X: Reload
by simplelovelyfanfictions
Summary: 6 years after the events in MMSF3, the dangerous power of the Star Network appears. Geo and his friends must protect the world's last hope from reaching the hands of the Star Hunters, a mysterious group who want to use the power of the Star Network for evil. Will Geo and his friends be able to save the world one last time? Rated T for fight chapters. [On short hiatus]
1. Prologue

**(After 2 years, this has gotten another wonderful revision. I hope you enjoy the new, and hopefully final, revision of this! Thank you for the wonderful feedback as always! - SLF)**

Prologue

In the year 22xx, electromagnetic, or EM, wave technology has reached new heights. Scientists have been able to create a BrotherBand with Planet FM, something once before practically impossible. With this new mutual friendship between the two planets, everything is right involving intergalactic relations. The amount of EM wave-caused danger and Noise levels on Earth have also decreased drastically with the new friendship. Planet FM is now busy with repairs from its rogue years while Earth is now at peace with EM Wave Beings and humans working and living together.

6 years ago, though, this wasn't the case. 3 times, the world fell into great peril. The first time, Earth was attacked by aliens from Planet FM. The second, Vega, a malevolent scientist, tried to take over the world with the ancient power of Mu. The third, Meteor G, a mysterious Noise mass, almost impacted into Earth due to the works of a cryptic organization called Dealer.

But three times a hero came forth to confront these evils. And three times this hero saved the world. This hero, or heroes, was Geo Stelar and Omega-Xis. With their power combined, the two become the world's ultimate hope, Mega Man! Because of Mega Man's heroic efforts, Earth's many inhabitants, human or not, have been able to live in happiness and peace for six long years.

However... serenity is never permanent.

The Star Network, a mystical EM power mass, has appeared. It's power to control and create all EM waves, is beyond what any being has ever seen. The Star Guardians, a group of humans that directly control the Star Network, have also appeared. Those who know the Star Network and the Star Guardians want to use them either for good… or for evil. The Star Hunters, a mysterious organization of EM Wave Changers, seems to be going after the Star Guardians. Their objectives? Unknown, but what witnesses have said, they are not good. Not only that, Noise levels have increased to dangerous points and EM Wave Viruses have gone haywire and are causing havoc.

The world is in trouble once again. Geo, now getting steadily ready for his final year in high school, and Omega-Xis, now getting too used to the slow-paced life of the suburbs of Earth, are forced out of retirement and flung head-first into this madness. Without knowing what to do, Geo and Omega-Xis agree to assist one of the Star Guardians in her mission to prevent a possible catastrophe even the heroes cannot fathom.

Will Geo, Omega-Xis, and all of their companions be able to save the world once again?


	2. Chapter 1

**[AN: This has been edited from the original content! I hope you enjoy the better work]**

Chapter 1- New Beginnings

Today is a beautiful April day in Echo Ridge. Not a cloud in the sky and a comfortable 80 degree weather.

A good day for a new beginning. A good day for a new adventure that could change a whole person's life.

It's always these kinds of days when a hero starts an adventure. Sometimes, it starts with getting a new friend, a little companion that you build a lifelong friendship with through tough battles and endless amounts of teamwork, training, and trust. Sometimes, it starts with receiving a magical weapon or token that could help stop evil in its path and bring home goodness. Other times, it starts with sadness and loss but ends with happiness and glory for all.

However, for Geo Stelar, it will start like a regular day. Rolling out of bed, throwing on his clothes, eating breakfast, and going out the door to go to school; the usual routine it is for today.

This "hero" was waiting in an area surrounding a park on this day. The young man looked like he was in his late teens at the most. He ran his gloved hands through his spiky brown hair, hoping to slick the top of it down. After several attempts, he decided to just cover up the front of his hair with a pair of odd-looking green-lensed sunglasses. The brunette wore an outfit consisting of plenty of colors; he wore a red jacket lined in black with a black t-shirt under it, navy blue pants, and red, black, and white sneakers. He was looking around, as if he was waiting for someone. He absent-mindedly played with a gold pendant in his hand.

"Geo!" a voice said out of thin air.

The boy looked around for the voice. Suddenly, he smiled a little.

He moved his sunglasses down over his eyes and magically a green floating monster appeared before him. It seemed to be a cross between a reptile and a human with ghoulish features. The monster had the face of a dragon, blue armor covering it and piercing red eyes coming out of it. However, its upper body looked like that of a knight- it wore a blue breastplate and arm cuffs. It wasn't human, though, as its body looked more like a green mist. The monster had its green glowing arms crossed, as if irritated.

"What is it Omega-Xis?" the boy asked.

"Where are they? I'm getting bored, y'know!" the monster responded.

"I don't know. Actually, I'm surprised that I'm the first one here." The boy continued.

The monster sighed and said, "Never mind. Besides, you do know that you don't need to use your Visualizer to see me anymore. Use your Hunter- VGX."

The boy smiled and said, "I know that. It just reminds me of how amazing it is that you can see the EM world, normally invisible to the human eye, through a pair of glasses... It's super amazing, really!"

The boy seems to like the subject by how his brown eyes lit up and how eager he was talking about it. The monster was obviously starting to get bored after a while. The boy continued on for a moment more until he looked ahead and saw someone from far away. He tried his hardest to make out who the person was. He had a feeling that he recognized the person and called her over.

"Hey! Luna! Over here!" the boy called.

The person he saw walked over to where he was. This person was a girl that looked about the same age as him. She had very long blonde hair in two big curly pigtails with a cute fringe that framed her slim face perfectly. She wore a cream-colored lace camisole under a navy blue blazer, a navy blue skirt, yellow tights, blue and orange flats, and a red scarf. Despite her fashionable looks and doll-like appearance, her hawk-eyed hazel eyes told another story.

The boy puts his "Visualizer" back on his head as the person finally came in front of him. The girl looked irritated with her eyebrows furrowed and her hands on her hips.

The girl pointed at the boy and said as if she were his angry boss, "Why are you late?"

"I've been waiting here at the spot we designated for 20 minutes. _You_ are late."

"Excuse me! I've been waiting _21 _minutes!"

"Then what's that bag in your hand?" the boy cleverly responded.

The girl looked down at her side to see the bag in question. The bag was a white one with the coral logo for "Echo Ridge Baked Goods" clearly visible for the world to see. The girl looked back up, a bit flush-faced as she saw how fast she was caught red-handed.

"Umm… well… uh… I got some kind of gift for the new student today."

"A new student?" the boy asked.

"Mmhmm! I heard from Mr. Shepar that a new student is coming today… And it's a boy…" This girl starts parading around like a lovey-dovey fan girl. "But, I will never lose my allegiance for Mega Man!"

An anime sweat drop appeared on the back of the boy's head. "Umm… yea… whatever…"

"Geo! Prez! Sorry I'm late!" An out of breath voice says.

The two turn around and see a boy was calling them. This boy was short and rather geeky looking, however despite this he could pass for at least a freshman in high school. The boy had messy, choppy brown hair and brown eyes behind blue thick glasses. He wore an aqua green blouse, a yellow tie, a green blazer, green pants, and red shoes. He was carrying a blue bag.

"Zack! Where have you been?" the girl asked, being even more irritated

The short kid said, "I missed the streetlight and I had to wait 5 minutes for it to change"

"You have a point. That light _is_ really long"

The girl said, "Fine. Your point has been approved" The short kid sighed in relief. "Now… WHERE"S BUD?"

The two boys freaked out. "Why does Bud have to be late _every day_?" the two thought in unison.

Finally another boy comes. He was taller than everyone else in the group and looked about the same age as everyone. The boy has bluish black spiky hair and bead-like jet black eyes. He wore a yellow shirt that had a fork and a knife in a darker yellow on it, a brown jacket that has torn-off sleeves, orange wristbands and hat, brown pants and orange and white sneakers.

He said, "Sorry I'm late! I-"

Everyone else finished for him, "Overslept because I was paying Burger Dungeon ALL night and I just had to have a nibble of breakfast. But then I ate the whole thing. It was delicious."

The boy in the spotlight said, "Oh! How did you know? Were you guys spying on me?"

Everyone else said sarcastically, "_No_. We made a _complete_ guess!"

"Really? That's amazing!" the boy said. Everyone else was dumbfounded.

"Whatever. ANYWAY! Let's get down to business." The girl got up on a bench nearby. "There's a new student joining our class today. Me being the president of the school, we have to show the student around the school and such. So…I want you guys to help me out! Meet me in the cafeteria after school, OKAY?"

Everyone else agreed. "Ok, then. Let's get to school."

Suddenly an alarm went off. Zach looked at his watch and shouted, "Uh oh! We're going to be late for school if we don't hurry!" Everyone began their run to school.

* * *

"Hi. I'm Geo Stelar."

The boy wearing red was dashing down the street.

"I'm the kid in red you see over there.

"5 years ago, I discovered the EM Wave World and its hidden secrets. How I discovered it? When I first met Omega- Xis, that blue monster thingy you saw a while back.

"3 years before our fateful meeting, my father, Kelvin Stelar, worked with NAZA in space. His ship mysteriously disappeared after an attempt to communicate with EM waves. Everyone died on the ship…except for him. Omega-Xis saved my father's life by making him an EM wave. He sailed space for months.

"Meanwhile, I was in a state of depression because of my father's disappearance. I was always alone, skipping school and staying in my room. That's when I met Omega-Xis and we became the EM hero, Mega Man. I overcame my sadness and, with the help and support of my family, friends, and Earth's citizens, I saved the world 3 times.

"After the third time, we found my Dad and he was successfully changed back to a human. Now Dad lives happily with my mom, Hope Stelar, and me (plus Omega-Xis).

"All of that happened when I was 12 years old. Since I turned 16 this year, there haven't been many EM Wave Viruses in sight and I've been living life like a normal kid… Well, unless you consider normal having an alien live in my Hunter-VGX and trying to hide my identity as Mega Man from everyone."

The girl is being carried by the guy with the orange hat.

"The blonde girl being carried by that tall kid over there is Luna Platz. She's your average rich girl. Everyone calls her Prez because well, obviously, she's the school president of my high school.

"3 years ago, she fell under control of the EM wave Ophicua and became the EM form Queen Ophicua. This was because of her parents. Luna has quite the love-hate relationship with her parents. Long story short, they never were really there for Luna. Luna developed a hatred towards them. Then she becomes Queen Ophicua, decides to try to strangle them to death with snakes, etc. Geez… It was hard to finally defeat her. But now, Luna's normal again...

"... I think...

"Well, what I mean by that is that before it happened, she was extremely bossy and it seemed like she hated me (she's actually nice on the inside. Unbelievable, I know). But now that she knows I'm Mega Man, she's my number one fan girl… That still sends a shiver up my spine…

"Anyway, she has a Wizard named Mode (another one of my fan girls) that tells her all about girly stuff. It's always make-up this and fashion that. Geez… I wish she had Ophicua as a Wizard. At least she's not girly…"

The guy carrying Luna is starting to slow down, probably from being so tired.

"The guy carrying Luna is Bud Bison. As suspected from the conversation earlier, he eats a lot…. is always late for everything… and he is sometimes slow on certain topics. He's actually a nice guy who's always set on one goal. Plus, he's really strong!

"His Wizard, Taurus, is actually a FM-ian like Ophicua; and like Luna, it controlled him. He was actually my first enemy ever. I was barely able to defeat him! After I defeated him, it seemed that Taurus didn't want to leave Bud and had taken over his body plenty more times after. Bud ended up making Taurus his Wizard and uses him as a battle partner, like how I use Omega-Xis as one.

"Since he can't control himself when Taurus is released, he has been receiving EM Wave training with an old friend of mine. He's even lost weight from it. Trust me; you wouldn't even know that he was a fat kid when we were 12! The training was intense but Bud seems to be in better control of Taurus and his weight"

"The short kid is yelling "Wait up!" behind us.

"The short kid is Zack Temple. As you can see by his personality and choice of clothing, he is the definition of a nerd. Okay, well, I shouldn't be talking. I am such an astronomy nerd! Ahhhhhhh those stars and those constellations! I love them all!... Wow, I'm getting off track, aren't I?

"Anyway, unlike Luna and Bud, he doesn't have an EM Wave partner or form. I really believe he feels bad about it sometimes. I can see sometimes when we are talking about EM Wave battles and virus busting, I can't help but notice how downcast he looks. It's really sad if you ask me...

"But he's actually very helpful. He has a website called Zackpedia, with his Wizard Pedia. It has all kinds of information on it. He is also always willing to help out when he can! One time, when we were trying to save Bud, he gave a ton of help, and even helped us escape! I am always grateful to have such a intelligent person as a friend. Plus, he supports Mega Man! And it's always good to have supporters!"

"Geo! Stop dilly-dallying! We have to hurry up!" Luna yelled from ahead.  
I began to speed up to catch up with everyone.

* * *

After what seemed to be forever, we finally arrived at our school- Echo Ridge High School. We ran and made the turn for the elevator. It was about to close but I wasn't going to allow that. You have no idea how angry Luna gets when we are late. I ran for the elevator and did a baseball slide into the doors right before they closed. I quickly got back up and opened the doors for everyone to get in.

"Great job, Geo!" Luna shouted as everyone got on.

I pressed the button for the 3rd floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened again, we ran to our classroom, 3-A. I ran towards the door and opened it while everyone else ran inside. I closed the door and all of us slid down onto the floor, sweating and panting.

"Yes! On time!" Luna says, out of breath.

I looked up and tapped Luna on the shoulder.

"Yes, Geo?" She said.

I said nervously, "I-I-I think we're l-late…"

"What?"

Everyone else looked up and Mr. Shepar was already in the class. Mr. Shepar was my science teacher in 5th grade and is now my homeroom teacher in high school. He is a pretty eccentric man, proudly sporting a large afro and shorts while wearing a lab coat. However, he is one of the nicest people I know and is a loving father to his many children.

Last year, he decided to transfer to my high school in order to get more money to help him raise his kids. But he also transferred so that he can see his "precious class" from when he first started out teaching. To this day, we still think he transferred here last year just to see us. He's the best… but I don't think he is right now. He looks a little annoyed.

"Geo, Luna, Zach, and Bud, why are you late? All four of you knew a new student is coming in today." Mr. Shepar said.

Luna got up and said, "I apologize for our rudeness, Mr. Shepar. We were in an extreme hurry to get here. We are all excited about the new student… especially me."

Mr. Shepar smiled and said, "Oh. Okay, then. Go to your seats now."

As we sat in our seats, Mr. Shepar continued, "Back to where I was, the new student is from a foreign country. _She_ has traveled who knows how many miles to come here. Give _her_ a warm welcome."

Wait… She? Her? I thought Luna said the new student was a boy. I looked at Luna and she didn't seem to be listening. She was probably in her own world, thinking about how hot the new boy was. All I know is that _someone_ is going to be _very _disappointed when she finds out the truth.

"Geo" A voice whispered.

I looked over to my left and the source of the voice was… Pat Sprigs.

Yep, Pattie over here is surprisingly my best friend. He is your average nice guy, always willing to help out and always smiling. Pat is one of the only people that doesn't mind me calling him in the middle of the night to talk about how pretty the stars look one night. He is also a pretty mellow guy. I never see him getting angry at people. And he likes to take life slow, stopping to look at flowers or just walking slowly when the scenery is pretty. All while listening to music from his trusty headphones.

Many of the girls in school think he's "dreamy" (mostly because he is kinda handsome but whatever) and usually adore him from a distance. That's pretty gross if you ask me. But heck, if I was a girl and I really didn't know how much of an idiot he can be sometimes, I would probably think the same thing.

Anywho, onto to how he is here right now. It's actually quite the story. We've known each other ever since 5th grade. However, shortly after 5th grade, he left without a trace. He finally returned to Echo Ridge 3 years ago. From what he told me, he said that a man told him that he would take care of him if he moved to Whazzap with him. Pat accepted the offer and lived in Whazzap with this random person for a while (Sounds like a load of crap, right?). However, when he came back, he came back without the guy.

To this day, I still wonder why he came back, and why he didn't come back with the guy that gave him the offer. I also wonder why Pat didn't get a tan. Whenever I went to Whazzap, even only for a couple of days, I would come back with such a tan! And yet, he had been there for about 4 years and he came back with that same pale skin of his. When I asked him all of these questions, he simply told me it was a secret. I am still curious about what happened but I still trust him. He is my best friend, and I won't let the past get in the way of our friendship.

Pat's sleepy brown eyes slightly closed as he smiled at me when I turned to him. Today, he wore a dark purple jacket that had a lilac stripe running across the shoulders and arms and a pocket on his right arm to hold his Hunter- VGX, an aqua shirt under it, aqua fingerless gloves, dark gray pants, and white and yellow shoes. And of course, he has that stupid purple headband thingy in his green hair.

Pat whispered, "Hi"

I whispered back, smiling, "Hi"

Mr. Shepar said, "Miss Quartz. You may come in now."

Luna muttered (still in her own world) as the door opened "Luna Quartz… Yeah, that sounds nice…"

Oh, great. Now she's thinking about marriage! I ignored Luna and turned my attention to the new student.

At first, all I could here was the tapping of her shoes on the ground -click, click- as the new girl walked in. But when I saw the new student... Oh goodness, how do I describe it? It was like a scene from a Hollywood movie; you know, the one where the boy meets the girl-next-door and she just happens to be gorgeous and it just so happens to be windy. It was like time slowed down as the new student stepped foot into the class. I knew she was probably walking faster than what I was seeing but I couldn't help but see it that way. And I had a feeling, many of my classmates were dealing with this problem as well. The clicks of her shoes seemed to hypnotize me even more. It seemed hours before she finally stood in front of the class. At that exact moment time came back to normal and the class erupted into either wow's or soft whispers.

From what I could see from my seat, the new student was about Luna's height. Her long blonde hair hung over her left shoulder like those nice silk curtains I saw at the furniture store the other day. The dark purple jacket , though it hid a lot of her upper body, seemed to perfectly match her amethyst eyes. Even though, I couldn't see a lot of her, she was simply…umm… you know the word! Beautiful...

I turned my head and looked at Pat. I was surprised at what I saw. He was… staring at her. I've never seen him do that to any girl… ever… I guess we're both enchanted!

I turned back to the new student and heard Mr. Shepar say, "Miss Quartz, introduce yourself."

The girl had a worried expression on her face. In a quiet voice, she said, "I'm Crystal Quartz. I-It's nice to meet you all." She curtsied a little and returned to her worried look.

I heard Pat murmured, "…Crystal…"

Mr. Shepar gave Crystal a pat on her back. "C'mon. Don't be scared. We don't bite."

Crystal gave a small smile and said, "Umm… okay…"

Suddenly, Luna got up out of her chair and yelled, "WHAT? THAT'S NOT ANTONIO!"

Uh oh… I think she realized the new student wasn't a boy… and who's Antonio?

Mr. Shepar laughed and said, "Antonio? This is Crystal. Where did you get that name from?"

"Wait…! You knew all along the new student was a girl! You lied to me!"

Mr. Shepar responded by laughing. "Yep! I wanted to surprise you by saying the new student was a boy. I'm surprised it took you so long to figure it out."

Luna pouted."That was mean…"

I looked over at Crystal and she looked sad. I stood up and said, "I think you are making Crystal sad."

Luna looked and saw her sad expression. "I'm sorry, Crystal. I'm didn't mean to offend you. I'm actually kind of glad that you are a girl anyway because… My Mega Man would be very mad that if I was dating Antonio!"

Crystal looked dumbfounded and said, "Antonio? Who is he?"

Luna blushed in embarrassment. "Umm… Well… Hehehe… That's a secret between you and me…" She said.

Crystal shook her head in agreement.

Luna suddenly went back to her regular self and said, "Hi! I'm Luna Platz! It's nice to meet you! I'm the class- I mean school president!" Luna gave her a hand.

Crystal smiled a little and said, "I-I'm Crystal Quartz. Not Antonio."

Everyone laughed. The two smiled at each other and shook hands.

Okay… There are three results that end with this. 1) They become best friends. 2) They end up hating each other's guts or 3) Luna converts Crystal to Megamanism (Yes, Luna claims it's a religion) But the way they are smiling… It's either 1 or 3. Hopefully 1! I chuckled a little when I thought that this new girl could end up like Luna.

"Since there is a new student today, for those who are in my science class, there will be no homework tonight." Mr. Shepar said.

Some of the students in the class, including me, gave out a "Yes" in response.

Crystal smiled and Mr. Shepar said, "I'm Mr. Shepar. I'm going to be your homeroom teacher this year. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." Crystal responded.

Suddenly, Luna grabbed Crystal by the arm and said, "How about you go introduce yourself to the other students!"

Crystal looked confused as Luna dragged her to where I was. Luna pushed her in front of Pat. Due to the slight heeled shoes she was wearing, Crystal almost fell over. Luckily, Pat caught her in the nick of time.

"Are you okay?" He asked in his calm demeanor.

"Yes. Thank you for asking." Crystal said, smiling afterwards.

"You're welcome." Pat said, smiling too.

The two were like that until Pat said, "I'm Patrick Sprigs, but everyone calls me Pat."

"I'm Crystal Quartz" She responded.

The two were smiling at each other again… until Luna grabbed Crystal again and shoved her right in front of me.

"Geo! Don't just _stand_ there! Introduce yourself!" Luna said.

Oh great… She wants me to introduce myself to Crystal, a girl. And I always tense up around girls. Geez…

"H-H-Hi. I'm Geo S-Stelar. It's n-nice to meet you." I said nervously.

Crystal smiled and said, "It's nice to meet you too, Geo"

My face was getting hotter and redder. I thought I was going to faint. Yeah guys… I'm really shy nowadays. Crystal turned around just when I thought I was going to pass out. Thank goodness.

I stopped blushing when I saw something shocking. Bud was on one knee in front of Crystal. Crystal was as shocked as I was.

He said, "I'm Bud Bison. And you're beautiful."

Crystal's face turned blood red. She shyly responded, "Umm… Thank you?"

Luna was ticked off. She grabbed Bud and said, "Hey! No lovey- dovey crap is allowed on school grounds!"

Mr. Shepar joined in, "Oh really. Then why did you plan that Valentine's Day class party last year if you knew you would break a school rule?"

Luna looked shocked. She was caught off guard by this comment. I bet right about now she regretted inviting Mr. Shepar to the party last year.

"Umm…whatever! It's not Valentine's Day yet anyway!" Luna said in defense.

Mr. Shepar chuckled. He said, "Okay then. But seriously, Bud. That's a little extreme. You _did _just meet the girl."

Bud blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Woops. Wasn't thinking. Sorry Crystal. But seriously… you're really pretty." Bud said.

Crystal responded shyly, "Thank you."

Crystal was once again grabbed by Luna and pulled over to where Zack was standing.

"Zack!" Luna said.

Immediately, Zack said, "Right! I'm Zack Temple! It's nice to meet you! Visit my website- Zackpedia! Spread the support!"

Luna hit her head in disbelief.

Crystal said, "Ooo… You have a website?"

"Yep! It was made by me and my Wizard Pedia." He said.

"Oh! Then I'll check it out." She said.

Crystal and Zack seem to get along just fine. Luna and I were dumbfounded by Zack's slick move.

After that, Crystal introduced herself to the other students. A crowd of girls, including Luna, were around her. They were smiling and talking. Luna said something and all the girls started laughing. Crystal laughed a little. I think Crystal is going to be very popular at school but… I can't help it noticing Crystal was smiling… unnaturally. Her smiles look… fake. Why should be smiling like that? That's strange.

While I was deep in thought, I hear a boy say, "Women…"

I looked up from my seat and there was Bud. He looked serious but crappy. "What mysterious creatures women are…"

"Bud. We are NOT having another 30 minute talk about the 'mysteries of women' again." I said.

"I don't mean that but… I don't get women."

Zach joins in, "Me neither."

Pat joins in too, "Because we aren't women?"

We said in unison, "Yeah..." We all sighed.

We continued to look at the girls talking. Crystal is still talking and smiling unnaturally. I wonder… Does she even want to smile? She giggled as Luna said something. I wonder how she feels. She might not be happy.

I started remembering when I first came back to school after Dad went missing. I remember I wasn't happy at all. I didn't want to be there. After all, I hadn't been to school in months and I was worried sick about my dad. THe only reason I was there was because Pat convinced me to go. But that one little friendly contact with someone got me going. Slowly, I began to worry less for my father and enjoy school.

I wonder if the same thing is happening to Crystal. She _is _from a different country. She's probably not accustomed to our society yet. But… that smile of hers is really strange… She looks happy but… she also looks sad. Maybe she needs a friend. Then I'll gladly-

"Geo! Snap out of it!" Luna yelled.

I came back to Earth. Luna was giving me the death glare. Oh great. I think either she was talking to me and I was zoned out or I had weird expression on my face.

Luna smiled and said, "Good! Its lunch time! Go converse with Crystal for a while. I'm going to get her gift ready."

Perfect timing. Now I can talk with Crystal. Wait… It's lunch time? I spent 3 hours thinking of Crystal rather than schoolwork? That's crazy. When Luna left the room, I walked over to Crystal's desk. She sits right in front of Pat.

I said, "Hi, Crystal."

She replied, "Oh. Hi Geo"

Crystal wasn't smiling this time. She had a worried expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just usually look like this." She answered.

"Oh" I responded.

She's lying. She's worrying about something. But… I think I shouldn't get into her personal business.

Trying to change the subject, I said, "So… you like school so far?"

She responded, "Yes I do. It's so funny. You're the first person who's asked me that today. Everyone is asking me what it is like in your country, where do I live, can we go on a date on Saturday, etc."

I blushed and said, "Really? Uh-uh- you're welcome?"

Crystal smiled, but this time… her smile was different. She gave me a real smile. That's stranger. Why would she smile like that for me and not someone else? Maybe she likes that I asked her about school.

"Aww... someone has a crush on someone!" A voice yelled.

I looked around and realized Omega-Xis said that. I quickly turned around and said quietly to my Hunter-VGX, "Shut Up!"

He started laughing. Crystal must've noticed because she tapped me on the shoulder and asked, "Umm… Geo, are you okay?"

I turned back around and said, "Yeah!"

Crystal looked confused for a minute and then smiled. "..Okay…" She said.

Luna finally came back in the classroom and said, "Crystal! Here, I present you a gift from the class to you."

Crystal got up and accepted the gift. She unwrapped the gift, which was a delicious- looking strawberry shortcake. Crystal had sparkles in her eyes.

She said, "Yay! It's cake! It looks delicious. Thank you everyone!"

Luna smiled and asked, "So… You like sweets?"

"Yep! Most of my fridge has sweets in it!" Crystal replied.

Everyone in class had an anime sweat drop. Crystal began to eat the cake.

Pat came over and said, "Umm… I know a café near here that has some delicious sweets there. I'll give you the address." His face grew a little red.

Crystal said, swallowing a piece of cake, "Cool… Thank you, Pat."

She gave him her real smile. So… she smiles like that for me and Pat. That means she probably likes it that Pat said that. Pat smiled at her back.

He said, "You're welcome, Crystal."

Crystal finished her cake and the class bell went off.

Luna said, "Well… Welcome to the class. Can you wait for me after school? Geo, Bud, Zack, and I will show you around the school."

Crystal said, "Umm…well… I have to…"

Luna said, "OK then! See you then." Luna went back to her seat.

Crystal had that worried look on her face again. I think Crystal has something to do after school. Or maybe her parents want her home earlier. Who knows? But all I know is that when Luna makes up her mind she means it. There's no getting out of it now. Pat must have noticed because he was looking at Crystal. I wonder what's going on his head. Crystal sat in her seat and the history teacher came in.

* * *

The bell rang and school ended. Crystal was packing up her stuff in a rush. Uh oh… Don't tell me she's going to try to-

Before I could finish my thought, Crystal sneakily ran out of the classroom. Luna must have not noticed until she came over to where I and Pat sat. She looked around and noticed she was gone.

She angrily said, "Where's Crystal?" Luna looked at me and grabbed my shirt."You saw where she went, didn't you?"

I lied, "No…."

I think I made Luna madder. She said, "You liar! You saw her leave! CONFESS!" She started shaking me around.

After a few seconds, I gave up and said dizzily, "She left… She went that way." I pointed down the hall.

Luna put me down and yelled, "BUD! ZACK! GET THAT GIRL!"

Bud and Zack ran down the hall after her. Luna gave me a dirty look. I guess that means me too.

"Right!" I said as I ran after them.

Pat happened to be there and asked Luna, "May I help out?"

Luna smiled and said, "Of course, Pat! Go ahead!"

Pat smiled and ran after me. Luna looked as us for a while. She smiled and walked into the hallway.

* * *

Pat caught up to me by the time we saw Bud and Zack.

Bud yelled, "I'll block her way, continue chasing her!"

We replied, "OK!"

Bud went down a hallway on the right of us. I saw Crystal a couple of yards ahead of us. Suddenly I saw Bud slide in front of Crystal from a hallway. He yelled, "You're not going anyway!"

Zach yelled, out of breath, "Yeah! *huff* he got her!"

We all thought that until we saw the impossible. She grabbed Bud's tall shoulder and jumped over him with ease. I couldn't believe my eyes. How could she do that? And can she teach me? Bud turned around and stood still in shock. We slowed down and stopped where Bud was.

He said, "I swear! How did she do that?"

"I don't know! Her body structure doesn't look like it can support that kind of activity! She clearly has no muscle definition at all!" Zach said.

Pat said, "Well… I don't know about you but whatever the case is, Luna's going to be VERY mad when she finds out we didn't catch Crystal. I recommend we go now."

We nodded our heads and continued the pursuit. Besides we'll catch her; It's 4 against 1.

We caught up to her in a few seconds. Since Bud failed, we went to Plan B. Bud grabbed Zack off of his feet.

"You better not throw me into a wall or else…" Zack said.

Bud threw Zach like a football over Crystal's head. Our plan is to use Zack as a human rope in order to trip her. With the speed she's going to trip. That's what Zack said "according to his calculations"

Crystal said, "Eh!"

Perfect! She's going to trip over Zack! It's going to work! Everything I just though I regret because she did a backflip over Zack, who was laying on the floor, preparing for impact. When he didn't feel Crystal, Zack looked up and saw something as Crystal jumped over him. We ran over to Zack and he was huddled up like a baby who woke up in the middle of a thunderstorm.

"Zack! Are you okay?" I asked.

No response.

"Zack?" I said.

No response.

"Oh no! Don't tell me Zack snapped his neck!" Bud said shocked.

"I hate you all so much..." Zack said with an emo look on his face. He looked up at us still in his huddled up position.

"What happened to him?" Pat asked.

He looked disturbed for some reason.

"I think he's having a 'teenage' moment right now. It's best we leave him be." I said.

"Oh, then let's leave Miss Diva over here." Bud said.

"I'm not a diva, you pest!" Zack said, back to normal. "I'm just disturbed."

"By what?" Bud asked.

"Crystal's... Crystal's..."

We all stared at him with anticipation.

"Oh, never mind. You guys are too immature to handle it."

"WAH? THAT"S NOT TRUE!" Bud and I said furiously.

Pat said, "Umm… guys…" Patrick was the only one not in our argument. He realized what was happening and said, "Oh, Lunaaaaa~! There you are!"

We immediately got up and yelled, "Oh crap! Luna!" We started running again. Pat laughed and followed us.

Now it's time to summon Plan C. Yes, there's a plan C and I'm involved in it. We got in our positions. Zack, Bud, and Pat ran after her while I ran into another hall.

Crystal turned around a little and said, "You guys won't give up!"

She looked ahead and I was in front of her with my hands spread out, blocking the way.

"Crystal! Give up! There's no use! We're going to catch you!" I said with confidence, complete with a wide smirk. Oh yeah, I am such a boss right now!

Crystal responded by not jumping over me or running past me. She jump- kicked me right in the face. I went smack-dab into the floor while she jumped over me and continued running. Not a boss today, it seems.

Bud, Zack, and Pat stopped where I was. Pat offered a hand. He said, "Need a hand?"

I willingly grabbed his hand. He lifted me up in a quick pull.

"Thanks!" I said.

Bud and Zack looked tired.

Bud said, "I give up! She's too hard to get!"

Zach said, "I agree."

I agreed too. Pat, though, said, "Don't give up yet. I have a plan we haven't tried yet." He whispered the plan to us.

"That's excellent!" Bud said.

Pat smiled and said, "Let's go then." We ran after Crystal.

We got into positions. Our plan this time was for me, Zach, and Bud to block the three way hallway up ahead. Zach told us that only path leads to the rest of the hallway. So Bud will block that path while I and Zach block the dead ends. As suspected, Crystal ran the hall. She ran up to Bud and jumped over him. She ran on ahead. Instead of chasing her, we waited. From where we stood, we could see the whole dilemma that was about to happen.

"I hope this works…" I said.

Crystal ran down the hall. Pat calmly walked a couple of yards in front of her path. He put his hands in his pockets and coolly smiled. Oh great, now_ Pat _is a boss! No fair!

He said, "It's over, Crystal. Give up."

Crystal said, "No, it's not. Now get outta my way."

She tried to jump over him but Pat grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. She blushed and shyly said, "What's the meaning of this, Pat?"

Pat smiled, "I told you. It's over. GIVE UP."

Crystal started getting sad. Crystal said, "Pat...please... it's really important... I have to go..."

Pat said, "Sorry… I can't. Luna's going to be mad, VERY mad… unless your parents are suspecting you home, then…"

Crystal looked up at Pat and said something we couldn't hear.

Zack, Bud, and I caught up to Crystal and Pat by then. She pushed Pat away and ran away. None of us ran after her. Pat looked down at the ground.

I asked him, "Hey. What happened? Why did you let Crystal go?"

Pat looked up and said, "Nothing… She has somewhere important to go."

Everyone looked at Crystal running away. We don't know what happened but… I swear I saw tears coming out of Crystal's eyes.

"Crystal…" Someone said.

We turned and we saw Luna behind us.

She continued, "So that's why she ran away…"

I guess she probably heard the conversation between Pat and Crystal.

"Huh? What happened?" Bud said.

Luna said, "Nothing. It's something I think we weren't supposed to know anyway…"

We looked at the sunset from the main school entrance. I saw a black figure in the sunset coming towards us. I winced my eyes trying to see who or what it was.

The figure wasn't very visible until it was in the building. My eyes opened in shock.

"A-A-Ace?"


	3. Chapter 2

This chapter has been edited from the original for your reading pleasure. I hope you sincerely enjoy this newer, better written version of this chapter. Enjoy.

-simplelovelyfanfictions

* * *

Chapter 2- Pleiades

In the sunset, I saw my old friend Arthur C. Eos, a Satella Police officer for who knows how long. He prefers to be called Ace, so I and everyone else respect his wish. No one can forget him. He's quite a good looking guy- handsome face, perfect sun-kissed skin, charming smile- Uh, I mean… Whatever! Yeah, he's pretty handsome! Don't judge me! He's also quite… "random"… in a bad way…

He walked into the building with no rush in his steps. When he was in front of us, he took off his sunglasses slowly and whipped his midnight blue hair around. Was he trying to reenact a Hollywood scene or something?

He even said, "Hey everyone. It's been awhile since I last saw you guys." slowly as if he was trying to be inappropriately sensual.

I looked over at Luna who looked like she had hearts in her eyes. I would expect Luna to be drooling but I think even she has her limits. I am pretty positive she is starting to like this cool Ace. And just when Ace was looking like a flawless model, he ruined the moment by pulling out a Mega Munchies snack bar out of his pocket and taking a big bite out of it. I looked over at Luna again. She looked like the hearts in her eyes were now in two.

I said, "Ace! It's been awhile! How have you been?"

The man in the spotlight replied, with a full mouth, "Good. -_munch!_- Very good. -_munch!_- How have -_gulp!_- you been, Geo?"

"Great! Actually better than ever!"

Ace took one last bite of the Snack bar. He started to crumble up the wrapper to the bar. "_Mmhmm_! This is delicious! Boy, do I love Mega Munchies!"

We all sighed in disbelief.

Bud said, "Hiya, boss! What brings you down here? Another EM Wave test? Oh man…"

Oh yeah, I almost completely forgot that Bud receives EM Wave Training from his guy. Unbelievable, right? He doesn't look it but Ace is one of the strongest men on the Satella Police. He is also an excellent trainer and passionate man. He's really awesome when he isn't being… himself, unfortunately.

I met Ace 6 years ago when Meteor G appeared. He was a Satella Police officer even back then. It turns out he used to work for the enemy, Dealer, before joining the Satella Police. And, like me, he can EM Wave Change with his partner in crime, Acid, to become Acid Ace. When he is in his EM Wave form, he is extremely powerful, even stronger than me I have to admit, but he always asks for my help when… something bad is going to happen…

Ace said, "Actually I need to talk with Geo for a second."

Uh oh… Don't tell me it's happening again…

* * *

Ace and I went down the hall as far as we could. I am guessing Ace doesn't want anyone to hear or see us. This must be serious.

Ace's silly grin was immediately wiped off with a serious, stoic look. It sent a shiver down my spine.

"Let me guess. You can already figure out what's happening."

I sighed and stated, "Either EM Wave Viruses have been causing problems or the world is in danger again."

Ace said, "Actually, the Satella Police believe it's both"

Ace gave me a folder. I opened it and it had paperwork and pictures in it. I looked at the photos. One was of an explosion and another was of a star cluster. I think I recognize the star cluster.

"What you see there is Pleiades, a star cluster of blue and _extremely_ bright stars. It's found in the constellation of Taurus. You probably know about that kind of stuff, 'star boy'"

"Pleiades, huh?" I said. I nodded, getting lost in the sight of the beautiful star cluster.

Ace continued, "Yes. You see the dust cloud in the picture?" Ace pointed at what he was talking about in the picture.

"Yes"

"Well, that contains Noise, which levels are off the charts. The Satella Police is still trying to figure out what this star cluster has to do with all of this but all I know is this."

He pointed at the picture of the explosion.

"The explosion was caused by EM Wave Viruses… Strong EM Wave Viruses… The Satella Police couldn't stop them. And guess what?"

He handed me two pictures. They were of two children- one girl with black hair and one boy with brown.

"That's Cindy and Max Blocker. They died in the explosion. They were only eight years old."

My eyes widened. I shivered. My stomach knotted. This has never happened before. No one has died from an EM Wave Virus attack before. This was all too shocking. What disturbed me most that small children, little people who had their lives really ahead for them, were killed. I don't know what caused their deaths but it doesn't matter. They were 8 year olds. They weren't involved. And out of everything, why didn't I know about this?

"After an investigation, we found out the viruses had the same frequency as the Noise from that dust cloud."

I looked up at Ace once again. He looked dead-straight in my eyes.

Ace said, "Geo- I mean Mega Man. The Satella Police doesn't have a definite idea of what's going on… But, we all know one thing. The world needs you again."

I turned away from him, fists clenched and head down at the floor.

He continued, almost shouting, "Do you want to see innocent people die?"

He always gets me when he speaks like this.

"You don't, do you?"

I looked at him and stood tall, like a hero would, and shouted back, "Of course not! I will _never_allow anyone on Earth to suffer in the hands of EM Wave Viruses!"

Ace smirked and said, "So, you want to help, kid?" He held his hand.

I said, "Of course I do!" I smacked my hand into his and gave it a firm shake.

I let go of his hand and began to walk away, but I turned around part way.

I said, "And it's not 'kid' anymore. I'm 17, y'know."

I walked away until Ace pulled me in a headlock. Ace said, "Oh really? You think I'm going to listen to you? Well of course not! You'll always be a kid to me! Even when you get married… and have your own kids…"

Ace started to realize what he was saying. "… Man… I'm getting old!" He said.

"Oh yeah… Speaking of getting old… How's the family doing?"

Ace looked shocked then his face turned red.

"Umm… Great… Carrie is starting preschool soon." He responded a bit of nervousness in his voice.

I smiled and said, "Oh that's great! I hope she excels in life and fulfills her dreams."

"You mean dreams of being a princess with handsome princes flying around on white ponies?" Ace said.

We laughed together at the joke.

"So it's a princess now, huh?" I asked.

"Yep!" He responded.

We laughed again for a while then we started walking back to where everyone else was waiting for us.

I never mentioned it but Ace actually has a family now. Shortly after the Meteor G incident, Ace was hospitalized with severe injuries. However, a girl from Dealer named Tia would always visit him. Eventually, through her kindness and compassion, Tia helped nurse Ace back to health. When Ace was strong enough to stand up and bend his knees again, Ace confessed his love for Tia and asked to marry her. Tia accepted his love and proposal. Now don't think this is some crazy Romeo and Juliet love story. They were already in love with each other before the incident. They just never told each other about it. Anyway, a year later, they got married. Then the next year, Tia gave birth to their daughter Carrie.

Ace said, "Why don't you head down to headquarters when you get a chance, kid. The doc needs to talk to you about the Noise activity in Pleiades. I'm not sure what it's about but… she said it was important."

I nodded my head and said, "Right. I'll go as soon as I get the chance"

* * *

When we arrived back where everyone was waiting, Luna had Bud in a headlock while Pat and Zack looked nervously at them. I joined in with the crowd. Ace started laughing at his student.

"Boss, that's mean!" Bud said.

Luna said, "That's what you get for asking me about my-"

Pat said, interrupting Luna, "HAHAHA! That's really funny"

Everyone looked nervously at Pat this time. I say that was the weirdest laugh I have ever heard. Oh Pat, you weird me out so much sometimes.

Luna looked at her watch and said, "It's 5 o'clock. We should all be heading home now."

Zach replied, "Yeah, you're right. Besides, there's a history test tomorrow."

"_WHAT_?! There's a test tomorrow! Why didn't anyone tell me?" Bud yelled, utterly shellshocked.

Luna and Zach said in unison, "Because, even if we _did_ tell you, you wouldn't study anyway."

Bud had flames in his eyes. "That's not true! I study all the time! In fact, I study so much that I'm_positive_ that I'll pass that test with flying colors!"

Luna raised a brow. "Oh really?"

Luna started yelling at Bud about his horrid grades. Meanwhile, Pat and I took the opportunity to leave and we started walking out of the school building.

"Bye, Ace! I'll visit the headquarters like you asked! Oh, and tell Carrie I said hi!" I yelled as I walked away from the school.

"OK! See ya!" Ace said, grinning widely.

* * *

Pat and I started our walk together. Pat says he lives near me (yet I have no clue where he lives) so we walk home together on any regular day. Today, though, is special. It's been exactly four years since Pat came home from, according to his alibi, Whazzap. So we, being best friends, are going to celebrate by going to see that new kung-fu movie we are hyped up about and then go to the mall to get something nice. The best part is that there is no homework tonight so we can hang out as long as we want! I'm just kidding. I have to be back home by 10.

"I can't wait!" I said on the bus. I was already feeling giddy.

"Me too!" Pat replied.

About 5 minutes later, our bus stopped at the Wilshire Hills stop and we promptly got off.

Wilshire Hills is one of the most popular hangout areas in town. It has a mall and a movie theater and… okay, it basically has everything, and everything happens at Wilshire Hills. The place we are headed though is above the square we are in right now. The mall and movie theater in Wilshire Hills are located in the sky level literally above us. In order to get there, we have to take an elevator. Pat and I were searching for that elevator.

Pat said, "There it is!"

I looked and saw the elevator. We walked over to the elevator. I pressed the button for it.

"I hope the movie has lots of explosions!" I said happily.

Pat smiled and said, "Me too! I heard from Bud there's lots of them!"

The elevator came and we got on. The elevator is one of those high-speed elevators. It went up too fast and I started getting dizzy. Before the dizziness got worse, the elevator stopped and its silver door opened. We got off and we arrived at our destination. I somehow began to feel nostalgic as we looked around the area for the movie theater. I think this is happening because this is where I first fought Hyde.

Hyde is a Mu EM-Wave user who combines with Phantom to become Dark Phantom. He's really creepy and seems to like theater arts a bit too much. And I kinda remember when I thought I finished him and he came back… I felt my stomach feel fluttery- in the bad way. Uh oh… I have a feeling something bad is going to happen. Oh why now of all times?!

Pat said, "Hey Geo! I found the theater! And just in the nick of time! Come on!"

I went back to Earth and put that gut feeling aside for now. I have a celebration to participate in. I refuse to let my worrying get to me this time. Pat and I ran into the mall ahead of us.

* * *

"Are you sure it's him?" a shadow with a soft, girl-like voice said.

"Yes. That boy is the one we are looking for." another shadow with a woman-like voice said.

The two shadows looked down at Geo as he ran to the movie theater with Pat.

"What should we do?" the girl voice asked.

"I have a feeling that we don't need to do anything. Someone else is already here. Maybe we can assist him when the time calls for it"

"Yes…Stella…"

The two shadows disappeared like a flash of lightning.

* * *

"_CHARGE_!" I yelled.

Pat and I are almost at the movie theater. I can't believe the elevator for the mall was out of order! So we had to take the stairs to the 5th floor.

I really need to get into shape. I was practically dying by the time we made it to the last set of stairs.

Pat said, "There's the door!" He pointed to the door up ahead.

"Oh… That's -_huff!_- nice…"

Pat was about to start walking up the stairs when he turned and saw my embarrassing figure trying to crawl up the stairs.

"You're really out of shape."

"I know that…"

After a minute of trying to crawl up the stairs, I made it to the top. I didn't realize that Pat was already there.

"You seriously need to run some laps."

"Oh shut it."

Pat laughed.

I somehow got off the floor. Pat and I left the stairwell and went onto the floor of the movie theater. The ticket booth was directly in front of us. For some reason, there wasn't a line. Lucky us, huh? We walked up to the booth.

Pat said, "Two tickets for Mega Kung-Fu Blast."

"OK. That will be fifteen Zennys," the guy in the booth said.

We paid the money and the guy gave us the tickets.

"Have a nice day." Pat said, as we left.

We went over to the ticket reader and gave him our tickets.

"Okay. Go to Theater One." he said, while tearing the bottoms of our tickets off.

We both said, "Thanks."

He gave us back our tickets and we left. We went over to the snack bar.

"I'll get the usual. You owe me for half the popcorn as usual." Pat said.

"Yep." I said.

Pat walked away and got on the short line.

I looked up at the menu and saw a "Deluxe Nachos! On Sale ONLY Today for 5 Zennys" sign. The only thing I thought of was me telling Bud about it tomorrow and him crying like a baby because he didn't know about it until tomorrow, the day the offer expired. Poor Bud…

Pat happened to be coming back with the popcorn and soda while I was still staring at the sign.

"Hey, Geo. Watcha looking at?"

Pat must have noticed how I was looking up, so he followed along and looked up at the sign. I l turned around and looked at Pat. He looked clueless at first then he started laughing.

"Let me guess. You thought of Bud when you saw the sign." I said.

"Yes…" He replied. We laughed.

"Well. Let's get to the theater." Pat said.

We headed into the theater. We looked around for seats and we saw two seats in the front. We went over to the seats and sat in them.

"Wow, we're lucky to get such good seats." I said.

Pat smiled and drank a little of his soda. Suddenly, the lights started to darken.

"The movie's starting…" Pat said.

We relaxed and started watching the movie.

* * *

"I've finally found you! The EM-Wave Hero, Mega Man! And look at that, you brought along a friend to enjoy the fun that's yet to come… _How generous_! _Mwahahahaha_! Better get to editing the script…" a black figure said in the sunset.

The figure vanished in a flash.

* * *

The lights came back on and the credits started rolling on the screen ahead of us. As everyone got up out of their seats, Pat and I turned to each other.

"That was freaking… _amazing_!" I yelled excitedly.

"Best kung-fu movie _ever_! With lots of explosions!" Pat yelled with me.

"_EXPLOSIONS_!" We yelled in unison.

I am pretty sure the man behind us felt the fire raging in our hearts because he quickly ran out of the theater. As we heard the door to the theater loudly shut, we realized what we were doing. And somehow, we burst out laughing.

"That was a great movie. I hope we can see it again." I said.

"I agree." Pat replied.

We started heading towards the door.

"Now let's go get that gift. What do you want?" I asked. We stopped walking.

"Nothing special really. Just this." Pat said.

Pat pulled out a picture from his pocket and gave it to me. From what I could see in the dim light of the theater, I could make out a picture of two silver dog tags.

Pat said, a tone of embarrassment in his voice, "Since it's been 4 years since I came back to Echo Ridge, I thought that maybe I should get a dog tag with our names on it… So it'll show our friendship. Like those best friends lockets girls give each other…"

I was a little shocked but then I smiled and said, "That's a perfect idea, Pat! Let's go to the store right now!"

We left the movie theater and started walking in a random direction. Then, we stopped and realized we had no idea where we are going.

I asked, "Umm… where's the store?"

Pat replied with a smile on his face, "I have no idea."

With fury, I said, "Well, onward! To the fourth floor!"

We ran to the fourth floor of the building.

* * *

Surprisingly, we found a store that makes dog tags in a matter of minutes. How lucky we are! Pat placed the order quickly. In a matter of minutes, the tag was done. After I paid the ten Zennys for it, Pat showed me what the dog tag said. On the front it said, "Patrick Sprigs". On the back it said the date when I found Pat again four years ago and a special message: "Even the stars and heavens can't separate our friendship. Let's shoot for them together!"

Oh that hit me right in the heart. Pat knows how much I love astronomy and how I want to be an astronaut. He wrote that just for me. Oh, I feel so special! I am being consumed in girly feels right now! All of the feels!

Then Pat pulled out another dog tag from his pocket. He then placed it in my hand.

"Here, you can have this one" Pat said as he gave it to me.

"_This_ one?! Don't tell me you got one already." I said.

I looked at this dog tag in my hand quickly. The engraving on the back was the same. The engraving on the front that had my name on it.

"I sorta did… You see, I wanted to get one for you too. But I know how nice you are, you wouldn't allow me to do that. So I made this one in advance so I could give it to you."

"Oh Pat, you shouldn't have!" I said. Pat knows how much of a guilt trip I can be. And I especially feel like one now.

"Geo, this day isn't just about me. This day is about you too! This day is about me reuniting with my best-est friend in the world. You can't be best friends with yourself, right? You deserve a gift too, Geo."

I gave him the biggest smile and hug in the world. Goodness, I hate it when Pat gets all nice and best friend-y on me. I tell you, I am getting the girly feelings so much! I can feel my eyes tearing up a little too! Geez, I hate and love Pat so much. He is seriously the nicest guy in the world. And out of everything, the greatest best friend.

I put my new dog tag around my neck. I looked at Pat again. We both smiled.

"I hope we can remember this moment forever."

"Yeah… Let's never forget this… As long as we have these dog tags, nothing can stop us…" I said.

"We should pass the story down to our kids, y'know."

"Who says I'm having kids?"

We burst out laughing as we started our journey home. I really do hope we both remember this day. Forever.

* * *

On the highest point in Wilshire Hills, the black figure appeared again. This time, more of it was showing. The figure was a slender, tall man with long, braided blonde hair. He wore a black and navy top hat, black, white, navy armor, and a red cape. He held a navy cane with a red stripe at the top of it firmly in his hands. He looked basically like a twisted version of the Phantom of the Opera.

He smirked as he watched Geo and Pat walk outside the mall.

"Now let the play begin… _ACTION!_" He said.

He hit the pole he was standing on with the bottom of his cane. Pulses began to come from the cane. He swung the cane in the air and ghost-like EM Wave viruses appeared.

"Act 1 begins now! Go forth my ghouls!" He pointed his hand forward and the viruses descended into Wilshire Hills.

* * *

Pat and I were almost near the elevator that led to the street level in Wilshire Hills. The whole walk I was twirling my new dog tag in between my fingers and shining it in the moonlight. Pat noticed what I was doing and just smiled.

"You really like it, don't you?"

"Of course I do! This is really awesome!"

Pat just giggled.

We were now almost at the elevator- _Bang! Buzzzzz! SCREECH!_.

What the heck is this horrid noise! It came out of nowhere. It was so loud that I had to cover my ears because I felt like my ears were going to explode. I looked to my right and barely saw Pat also covering his ears and hunching over through my winced eyes.

"WHAT IS THIS NOISE?!" I heard someone scream from behind me.

I looked up and the lights in the street were the ones to explode first. Pat pushed me to the ground as the explosions came near us. We both were on the ground as the popping of the lights came to and left us. The noise was gone now. But there was an eerie silence that told me this wasn't over. Pat and I quickly got up.

Pat practically yelled, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Thanks!" I replied, also as loud.

We looked up and I saw that there was glass all over the place. The people around us were also now getting up from the ground, looking around, curious as to what just happened.

Pat said, "Geo, I'm going to see if the elevator is still working! Stay here!"

And just when I was going to object and say how about we go together, Pat was already gone. And I just thought that best friends were supposed to stick together…

My Hunter-VGX suddenly started to go off and beep. It stunned me. Who wouldn't be stunned by your phone suddenly going off out of nowhere When I recovered from my brief shock, I checked it and it was Omega-Xis.

"Yo kid! Put on your Visualizer!" he said.

I followed Omega-Xis's order. From what I could see, we were completely and utterly surrounded by EM Wave Viruses. But these are ones I felt in my heart I had never seen before. They look similar to what i have seen before. But something, just a little something, was telling me that these were so much more dangerous than the ones I fought before.

I looked to my left and saw Omega-Xis. I wasn't surprised that time. The way Omega- Xis's eyes winced told me that he knows that the viruses are strange too.

"What is going on?"

"Kid, even I don't know."

We began looking around for any source of the viruses. After a good second, we looked at each other. I've known Omega-Xis long enough to know that that angry look he was giving me was of disappointment. He found nothing. Neither did I.

Just when I was putting back my Visualizer and Omega-Xis zapped back into my Hunter-VGX, Pat came back. He was out of breath, but he still had that smile of his plastered on his face.

"The elevator isn't working. But… I found an emergency exit! People are evacuating… Now! Let's… Get out of here-"

"Pat. I think you should head home without me…"

Pat looked horrified at me. "No way! Didn't I just tell you that you're my best friend?! I can't just leave you here in danger! I just can't-"

I frowned. "Pat… I'm sorry…"

I ran away from Pat and into the area where I saw the most EM viruses. I could hear Pat yelling my name as he ran after me. This kid really knows how to break my heart.

Suddenly a billboard collapsed right in his path. He was now separated from me. Pat wasn't going to be able to stop me now.

"GEO!" Pat yelled, "YOU BETTER BE ALIVE WHEN I FOUND YOU!"

I didn't hear Pat leave.

I simply shouted back, "OF COURSE! I'M NOT DYING TODAY!"

And with that I heard the pitter-patter of Pat's feet slowly fade into the distance. It was just me and Omega-Xis now.

I got up slowly and ran over in this area now. I threw on my Visualizer.I slowed down and stopped. My eyes opened in shock when I saw the thousands of viruses that appeared Wilshire Hills. Well, they most certainly multiplied.

I could feel my heartbeat speeding up. My hands started sweating. My ankles started shaking. I'm scared. Great…

Omega- Xis said, "Hey, kid. You ok?"

I looked over to my left and he was there. Must have popped out of my Hunter-VGX after the blast.

I gulped and replied, "Yeah!"

I put my fears aside and put on my game face. I'm Mega Man! I can't be scared! I'm a global hero! I can't lose to some petty EM Wave Viruses! I ran over to the edge of Wilshire Hills, where all of the EM Wave Viruses are. I took in a deep breath, and I fell backwards into the sky below.

I pulled out my Hunter- VGX and yelled, "Transcode! No. 003! Mega man! On-Air!"  
A light came from the sky and fell down on me. When the light went away, the EM wave world was visible to me. I landed on a Wave Road and looked up. I realized that I have become Mega Man. My blue and white armor gleamed in the moonlight. I looked at Omega-Xis through my ruby visor. Omega-Xis was now in a device on my left arm.

He yelled, "Let's go, kid!"

I replied, "Right!"

We zoomed over to the viruses and started attacking them.

"Predation! Long Sword!" I yelled.

Omega- Xis turned my arm into a sword. We started our assault on the viruses before us.

I slashed the viruses as fast as I could. One by one, slash after slash, I took them down.

I had gotten most of them when I needed air. As I stopped for a breath, a virus that I had slashed earlier came back… and boy was it stronger. It hit me with a hammer and I went flying into the fallen billboard.

"Crap!" I went smack into the billboard.

I fell straight down to the debris covered ground. I tried to get up. I couldn't however. My body was starting to fail on me.

"Geo! Are you okay?" Omega-Xis yelled.

I slowly and painfully got up. "Yeah…" I replied, weakly.

I saw that the viruses that I slashed earlier were coming back… and multiplying… and growing stronger! I figured it out when I saw this- it's pointless to fight these viruses. I told Omega- Xis what I thought. Surprisingly, he agreed.

"You're right. We need to find the thing that's summoning the viruses. If we destroy it, then probably the monsters will go away."Omega-Xis said.

I nodded. "But what is summoning them?"

We found that answer when we heard a sudden sound of slow, sarcastic clapping.

* * *

I looked up and guess who I saw: Dark Phantom. I knew it! I knew that today wasn't going to be good after seeing Ace earlier! I knew that when something fun was going to happen for me, something horrible was going to happen! And it has now gotten ten times worse thanks to this guy!

"Dark Phantom, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in a watery _grave_ somewhere?" Omega-Xis shouted, fury laced in his voice.

Dark Phantom started laughing that horrid laugh that always sent shivers down my spine.

He said, "Oh, Omega-Xis, you should know that any great director can't die like that. Especially when he has such _great_ actors…"

Dark Phantom really knows how to poke at my patience. "Dark Phantom, let's end this once and for all!"

Dark Phantom, "Yes! Perfect! Just as the script says! Now let Act 2 begin!"

He swung his cane in the air to remove the viruses that were in front of us to create a better battle field.

"Let's dance, Mega Man! Phantom Claw!"

Dark Phantom summoned a giant black claw from a swipe of his cape. And it was coming straight for us. I dodged it with ease. Really?… That's all he had. I really don't have time for this.

"Predation! Gatling!" I yelled.

Omega- Xis turned into a machine gun. And I fired at Dark Phantom. Dark Phantom began to swing his cane rapidly as the bullets came towards him. When he stopped spinning his cane, Dark Phantom was unharmed. He smiled at me crazily. My eyes opened in shock.

Omega- Xis said, "Damn! He's got some new moves!" He shifted back into his original form on my arm.

I smirked. "So what! We got some new moves of our own! Right?"

Omega-Xis smirked "Yeah!"

"Wanna try out that move we made up four years ago. You know, the one that really packs a 'punch'."

Omega-Xis had the biggest and weirdest smile I have ever seen him give me across his blue face "It would be my pleasure!"

That's what I'm talking about.

I lunged towards Dark Phantom.

He smiled and said, "There's nothing in my script about you being a _complete_ moron. Why would you want to come fight me head on? You and me both know about my close-range advantage!"

In a split second, I was right in front of him. I simply said, calmer than those seconds you wait for the thunder to come, "So I can do this."

And here comes the thunder. I charged up a blue energy onto my right arm. And as quickly as it charged, I smashed my right fist into Dark Phantom's ugly face.

"Mega Drive!" I yelled as I did the punch.

He went zooming into the ground and smashed back first into it. He laid there, motionless. The viruses started disappearing. I looked around and smiled.

"Did we do it?" I said.

"It seems so." Omega- Xis said.

"Great! Now let's go back and find Pat-"

I wasn't able to finish my sentence because I looked up and saw Dark Phantom above me.

He yelled, "Now it's time for the finale!"

Omega- Xis yelled, "_RUN!_"

I couldn't move for some reason. I think it was because I was shocked about what was to come. Or maybe everything was going too fast for me to compute what was happening and how I needed to get out of there.

Dark Phantom lifted his cane to the sky. A black swirl appeared around it. He swung his cane around and the swirl got even bigger. He swiped his cape around and yelled, "Phantom Grand Finale! "The swirl turned into a beam of black energy. The black beam came down at me and, as we can all guess, I got hit. Hard.

The impact caused me to be flung into two streetlights and into the wall of the mall. I fell to the ground, in pain. My sight was starting to get blurry. My hearing was starting to get fuzzy. All I could hear was Omega- Xis yelling "Geo! Geo!" I couldn't get up. I just laid there. _Helpless_. A hero is not supposed to be helpless.

Dark Phantom was walking towards me slowly, like how the villains do before they kill the hero. Well I guess I'm the hero in this case for once.

When he was in front of me, Dark Phantom said in a sinister voice, "The greatest actor has met his end in his final play… Now, the director has the honor of sending him off… Goodbye, Mega Man."

He lifted up his cane and he began to rush his cane at me. I knew that this was the end, so I closed my eyes, getting ready for the impact. But, I didn't feel anything. I opened my eyes and saw that someone blocked his attack.

The person looked like a girl about the same age as me. She was also in EM Wave Change form. She had on a purple helmet with a pink visor, a short black dress, a long-sleeved purple and white jacket that went down to about an inch under the dress, a black armored glove on her right hand, black tights, and purple, white, and black armored boots. Her silver staff was what stopped Dark Phantom's strike as she blocked it with her staff. I couldn't see her eyes but I could see that this person had curly, long blonde hair coming out of her helmet. Luna? No, this person's hair isn't long enough to be Luna's. Then who is it?

The girl said, "Stay away from Mega Man. He's _mine_."

Huh? Did she just say I'm hers? My face started turning red just from the thought of something like that. Oh why does this happen to me?

But I stopped when I saw her reach her hand forward and yell, "Crystal Beam". A light purple beam came out of her hands and hit Dark Phantom. He went rushing into a building.

I looked up at the girl again. She was now looking down at me. She turned and held out her hand in front of me.

"Do you need help?" She said.

That voice. That airy, soft voice. It sounded so familiar.

I somehow grabbed her hand and she pulled me up. When I got up, I saw that her beautiful eyes made where her visor was covering her pupils a soft amethyst color. I knew it then that I think I knew this person.

"Crystal?" I asked.

The girl's eyes opened in mild shock then quickly fluttered back to their normal, canary position.

"Hello, Geo…" She responded.

My heart stopped for a second when she my name. My _real_ great! She knows my true identity. Oh, this is great! Just great…

"Phantom Claw!" I heard. A black claw appeared out of nowhere.

I was going to block it but I didn't react fast enough. Crystal did it for me. She quickly moved her arm to her left, her eyes never leaving mine, and said, "Heavenly Shield."

A clear lilac wall appeared in front of us. The claw was absorbed by the wall. I was shocked when I saw it. The wall disappeared when the claw was absorbed. When the wall disappeared, Dark Phantom came zooming at us.

He yelled, "You vile woman! You aren't part of the script! Get out!"

Crystal responded by saying, "Quartz Pillar."

A lilac pillar of quartz appeared out of the ground. It hit Dark Phantom right in the gut. Crystal then quickly jumped and roundhouse kicked in straight into the billboard. He splatted into the board and fell onto the ground. I looked at Crystal and she looked like she didn't have the slightest bit of remorse for him.

Wow… She's a good fighter even when she is in EM Wave Form.

Dark Phantom got up, slowly, as if he met his defeat. He jumped up onto a Wave Road just above him.

Dark Phantom said, holding his gut, "I'll finish this play soon. But for now, I must take my leave. I bid you adieu Mega Man."

Dark Phantom swiped his cape around him and, like a ghost, he vanished into thin air. It's over. Me and Omega-Xis won. Well, technically, Crystal won. But for now, she's on our side. But is she really?…

Crystal turned to face me. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I should be the one asking the questions."

Crystal looked a little worried by how serious I became. I'm not dealing with the B.S. right now. Why was Crystal here? I need to know now. Because that statement of ownership over me from earlier could be implying that she wanted me dead. Or something less serious but horrible in the opinion of many.

"Why are you here, Crystal?"

Crystal looked away from me and started to walk away. I couldn't let her not answer my question.

"Crystal, answer my-"

"I'll tell you tomorrow… but for now… I have something important to do."  
And with that, Crystal disappeared.

It was a moment before Omega-Xis responded. "That was the girl from this morning right? The girl I said you had a crush on?"

"Yep…" I plainly responded.

"She might be on the bad side, you understand that?"

"Yep…"

And with that, I transformed back into my human self and made that lonely walk home. Where was the emergency exit again?


	4. Chapter 3

This chapter has been edited from the original. I hope you all enjoy this, in my opinion better version of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 3- The Star Guardians

I woke up when I heard the sound of my alarm clock.

I hate mornings like this. These are the kind of mornings where I just don't want to get up. These are the kind of mornings where I am so nervous that I just want to fake being sick so I can stay home.

Somehow, I rolled out of my bed and got dressed for the day. As I did, I started to think about what happened last night.

_"I'll tell you tomorrow…but for now… I have something important to do…"_

That's all I could hear in my head replay. I wonder what Crystal will tell me today. I hope it isn't anything bad. My life isn't looking up right now anyway. I don't really need any more stress as it is.

Omega- Xis said, "Hey, kid!"

I went back to Earth. How long was I out?

I quickly swiped on my Visualizer and saw Omega-Xis floating next to me.

"What is it, Omega- Xis?" I asked.

"Your mom was calling you. She said that breakfast was done." He said.

"Okay! Thanks!" I smiled.

I grabbed my jacket from its place on the back of my desk chair and threw it on me. I ran downstairs at the speed of light. I was really hungry this morning. Not for adventure for once. For food. Delicious food according to the wonderful aroma in the air as I got closer and closer to the kitchen.

When I was downstairs, guess who was there? Pat! Oh, I am still mad with him about yesterday. He ditched me after a huge friendship speech and everything. He's gonna _pay_.

I gave him an angry look and sarcastically said, "Oh what a _surprise_! _It's Pat_!"

I pulled him to the side. I whispered angrily, "You bum! You ditched me!"

Pat smiled nervously. "I was praying all night that you would forgive me."

"It seems it didn't work."

Pat started to explain what happened. He said that he did indeed wait for me downstairs in the street level of Wilshire Hills. However, he saw this weird guy running away. Pat thought that that man was the "perp who did this" so he went after him. I figured that he's lying but I thought there's no point of getting angry any further. That food in the next room needed to be eaten immediately anyway.

"Umm… Whatever… Just don't do that again. Let the Satella Police handle that kind of stuff." I responded.

Pat sighed in relief and said, "I promise!"

We smiled together and went to go eat breakfast.

Pat comes here early so that he can get a free meal made exclusively by my mother. Pat loves my mom's food. She's an excellent cook. Luckily for him, my mother is always kind enough to give him the food he so desires. Pat is like another child of hers now according to what she says time to time when I tell her of my weekend plans. He's practically here all the time now so it's not a surprise. That's pretty much why Pat is now currently stacking some pancakes onto his plate right now. However, he has his levels of respect though he really doesn't think of himself that highly.

We sat down and started eating breakfast. Today's breakfast is pancakes. I poured some syrup on top of mine.

When I put the bottle back onto the table, I looked over at Pat and saw him devouring his large plate of food like there was no tomorrow.

I have given up being weirded out by this.

Despite how calm and nice and handsome Pat is, he eats a lot and really fast for his size. Sometimes, I wonder where all that food goes. Is his stomach a bottomless pit? Maybe a black hole? Who knows. I just know that Pat better stop eyeing my plate or I'm using this fork as a murder weapon.

Midway through our meal, Dad finally came downstairs.

As I mentioned earlier, my father, Kelvin Stelar, finally returned home six years ago and has been happily living here since. He's exactly the same- always smiling and hard working. And he still works at Amaken as a scientist. But since Mom and all of his co-workers are worried that what happened eight years ago might happen again, Dad doesn't go into space anymore. However, he does help make the ships and train the astronauts.

Anyway, Dad walked over to Mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi, honey…" He said.

Mom turned around and responded, "Good morning, honey." She rustled his reddish brown hair, causing Dad to huskily laugh.

Dad walked over to me and put his elbow on my head. He started reading the newspaper while doing this. He does this on the regular to me.

I asked, "Why do you always do this to me?"

He replied, "Because your head is so easy to become my elbow rest."

I looked at him with a sort of angry"WTF" face. He burst out laughing.

Pat chuckled a little when he saw this. And Dad finally noticed Pat was there from the laugh.

Dad said, "Oh! I can't believe I forgot about my other elbow rest." Then Dad proceeded to put his other elbow on Pat's head.

Pat smiled and said, "Umm… Good morning, Mr. Stelar."

I realized I had forgotten to greet my own father. So being a good kid, I told him. "Yeah! Uh… Morning, Dad!"

Dad did his signature big grin and said, "Morning!"

Dad finally stop using my and Pat's heads as elbow rests and sat down in his seat. Mom put down a plate of pancakes in front of him. He smiled happily and started eating. Everything was pretty silent from then on. Just the sound of chewing and utensils clicking.

Mom put her hand on her face and smiled. "It seems all of my boys are loving breakfast!" Mom said happily.

Pat, Dad, and I said in unison, "_Yes!_"

Pat suddenly stopped eating and said. "And is there any more?"

I looked at Pat's plate. It was cleaner than a baby's bottom.

My eyes bulged. "Already?!"

My parents burst out laughing.

"Yep. Here. Let me put some on for you." My mother smiled.

I kind of forgot to introduce my mom. And that's kinda not good. So now I will take the time to do it.

Hmm… Well, Mom's full name is Hope Stelar. I got my hair color from her. My parents debate to this day whose eye color I inherited because my mother also has dark brown eyes. Her hair is long but she usually keeps it up so it won't get in her face. As I mentioned before, she's a good cook. But out of everything, she is a great mother.

When Dad went into space, I saw my mother grow into a strong person. Not just for herself, but for me too. Because if she wasn't strong, how would I be affected? For about a year, I didn't attend school. What if she wasn't encouraging back then? I would have probably been much much worse than I was.

She worked hard for the two of us while still praying and hoping my father would come home. And when he did, she was just so ecstatic.

I remember when Dad got out of the hospital. It took a couple months for his body to be healed up to the point where it was safe for him to live among us again. Mom couldn't stop crying the minute he stepped into the house. The whole night she cried too. We had to cancel the homecoming party for him because of Mom's sudden emotional breakdown. But she cried out of happiness. She thought my father was dead. I thought that he could have possibly been dead after a while too. And heck, I cried too when he got out the hospital too. But Mom truly outdone the welcome home for him.

Anyway, now back to something less serious. Mom has a job but to this day I have no idea where she works. She has never told me. I asked Dad once and he said he had no idea. Mom must have _such_ a secretive job… even Dad has no idea where she works! She could be a secret agent for all I know! So I decided that I will find out where she works 6 years ago. But I always forget to ask her…

Everyone finished eating breakfast. Pat and I left the table and put our plates in the sink. After that, we grabbed our stuff and started to head out the door.

Mom stopped me right before we got out the door. She had her hand on her hip and an irritated look on her face. I knew exactly why.

I walked back over to her, smiled, and said, "Bye, Mom…"

Mom smiled. She kissed me on the cheek and said, "Bye, sweetie. Have a good day in school and stay out of trouble."

Geez, she always knows how to embarrass me.

"_Mom…_"

Pat smiled and giggled a little. Mom turned around and patted his soft green head.

Mom said, "You too, Pat. Make sure Geo stays out of trouble."

He responded, "Yes, Ma'am."

We ran out the door and started on our walk to school.

When Mom closed the door, I realized it and stopped. Pat stopped too.

I said, "_Crap…_"

Pat asked, "What happened?"

"I forgot to ask Mom where she works _again_!"

"This is the 100th time. Happy anniversary!" Pat said, smiling silly.

I looked at him a little angry.

Pat continued, chuckling a little, "It's always so funny that you forget to ask your mom that!"

"I can't believe you actually count." I replied.

Pat laughed.

* * *

After a long bus ride, Pat and I arrived at school.

We headed inside and I saw that Luna was in the lobby. The way her eyes darted back and forth made me assume she was looking for someone. When her eyes caught me and Pat, she started go walk over to us. I could tell by her constrained face and stomping feet, Luna was having one of her daily mood swings. Oh great… What did we do _this_ time?

Luna asked, "Have you seen Bud? I need to talk to him."

More like yell...

Pat said, "Nope. We didn't see him today."

We were about to walk away when Luna stopped me and Pat again.

"Well, if you see him, tell him I need to talk to him."

"Alright." I said.

We walked away and headed upstairs to the classroom. When we arrived, we found Bud. He was under his desk, covering his head. We looked at him weirdly. Why was he cowering in fear under a desk? He's one of the strongest fighters I know.

I asked, confusion in my voice, "What are you doing?"

Bud quickly responded, "Hiding from Luna."

Pat asked, "Why?"

Bud said, "Umm… Well… Ha-ha… you see… I... Ah-ah-"

"Didn't study because I was playing Burger Dungeon all night?" Pat said.

"Did something stupid because I was tired from playing Burger Dungeon all night?" I said.

We asked in unison, "Does it have to do with the result of playing Burger Dungeon all night?"

"Not this time!" He said.

"Then what did you do?" Pat and I asked in unison.

"I told Luna that she looks ugly when she's angry!" Bud said. "And both of ya know she's angry _all_ the time!"

Pat and I looked at each other in shock.

No wonder Luna's upset. Rule #1 in the Boys Survival Guide about Girls is to never _ever_ say a girl's ugly. Especially when you say they look it when they express some sort of negative emotion. If you feel that way, keep it to yourself! Because if you say that, it could make a girl either cry or try to rip your eyes out. And Luna's definitely the type to rip your eyes out.

That rule is one of the many rules Bud never follows. And, in his case, it got him in the doghouse. _Deep_ in the doghouse.

I'm standing my ground.

I said, "Sorry. I'm not helping you."

Bud said, "WHAT? I didn't even say anything yet!"

"First off, I can already assume you want my help. Second, the reason why is because I can't help you in the first place. I refuse to be Luna's punching bag again."

"Ah c'mon! _Please_…" Bud said, with puppy dog eyes. He was literally begging now.

I looked at him angrily and said firmly, "NO!"

Bud looked defeated and mumbled, "Some friend you are…"

He looked up at Pat and realized maybe some kind of hope was found. Since Pat is the nice guy and that usually he's the one that gets on Luna's good side, maybe Pat can save Bud. Let's see how this goes.

Bud asked, "Oh Pat, can _you_ help me?"

Pat smiled and said, "Nope."

Bud was utterly shocked. He asked, curious as to why he wasn't going to receive help, "WHY? I thought you were the nice guy!"

Pat continued, still smiling, "I _am_ the nice guy. But I don't have to be nice all the time. And besides, you are always doing this stuff to Luna. You deserve a beating or two. Maybe it'll knock some sense into you."

Bud looked utterly shocked again.

Suddenly I heard a certain catty voice yell, "_BUDDDDD_!"

_Hereeee's_ Luna!

Bud shrieked like a little girl.

Luna came running into the classroom. She quickly shoved Pat to the side, Pat not really seeming to mind since that smile on his face didn't disappear. Luna grabbed Bud by his ankles and started dragging him out of the classroom.

Bud tried to grab anything- desk legs, chair legs, _my_ leg- to help him escape from Luna. He even tried to grip the floor tiles. But his grip on the legs just let loose from Luna's harsh tugging. And his nails just grinded into the floor, making a nails-on-chalkboard noise.

He was done for.

Luna dragged Bud out of the classroom. Luckily, there are indoor windows in our classroom so we could witness the whole ordeal that was going to occur. I kinda felt like a spectator of a gladiator match in the Coliseum. Luna's the lion. Bud's the warrior. And Bud was about to be lion food.

I think it's a bad time to mention it now but Luna is way stronger now than before. And as you can obviously see, it's not emotionally.

After being kidnapped a couple times by FM-ians, she realized that she might be burdening her "Mega-Man" because I had to always go rescue her. So, in response, she thought that the best way to stop getting kidnapped was by learning to defend herself. Unfortunately, for her enemies, and right now, Bud, she's a quick learner and she had a lot of time on her hands. 6 years ago, she decided to take up karate as her choice of self-defense. 2 years later, she earned her black belt. Currently, she has her 8th Dan Black Belt and now working for her 9th Dan.

She's a petite powerhouse that mood swings more than she changes her clothes. And this is the exact reason why Bud, literally the biggest, probably physically strongest guy I know, is so scared.

Luna started the punishment. She lifted Bud off the ground and started swinging him around by his ankles really fast. Bud was screaming for help but no one dared to help. We all know that trying to stop Luna now is a death wish.

Crystal happened to be coming into the classroom when Bud was getting swung around by Luna. When Crystal saw Luna, she looked both shocked and scared at the same time. Crystal somehow tiptoed into the classroom, all while continuing to watch in horror as Luna swung Bud around like a sack of wheat.

Pat happened to notice Crystal was now in front of him. He took the opportunity and said to her, "This is why you have to obey Luna."

Crystal must have heard Pat because she slowly nodded. Pat chuckled.

_THUD!_- I turned around and Luna had finished Bud's beating. Luna was swiping her hands while Bud was left on the floor. Luna started for the classroom but she stopped midway and turned to Bud's disgraced form on the floor.

Luna flipped some of her hair out of her face in a Hollywood actor way. She shouted, "Bud, don't you _dare_ say that _ever_ again! I do **not** look ugly when I'm angry. You should know I look fabulous in any type of mood. Hmph." Luna stuck her nose up in the air and continued back into the room and sat down at her desk.

Bud slowly crawled back into the classroom, covered in bruises. He fell to the floor, belly first, and groaned in pain.

Crystal got on her knees and sat near the lost warrior. She worriedly asked, "Oh, Bud, are you okay?"

Bud quickly got up, as if he miraculously recovered, and said in a flirty way, "I'm perfectly fine now that I heard your caring voice!"

Pat and I just shook our heads.

Zack came into the classroom and said, "Mr. Shepar's coming!"

Everyone quickly got into our seats. Zack walked over to Bud, who was still on the floor.

"What happened to you? You're all bruised up." Zack asked in awed shock.

Bud said. "Don't ask."

Bud got up and the two went to their seats. Mr. Shepar came in. He looked as happy as ever.

"Good morning! How are you all today-" Mr. Shepar happened to look at Bud and like any normal person, he freaked out. "Oh my God! Bud, what happened to you?!"

"Don't ask."

"Umm… ok…" He replied.

Mr. Shepar put back on his happy face and sat at his desk. The bell then decided to finally go off, announcing the beginning of homeroom. Since I had nothing to do, I decided that I would take out my book on Roman Mythology. What? I can't read about the heroes that the constellations are named after?

When I dug in my bag for my books, I found a purple piece of paper stuck between my astrology textbook and history notebook. I pulled it out and read it quickly.

"_Meet me after school at the small park nearby school."_

_-Crystal"_

I looked up at Crystal. She was looking at the board, lost in thought. Then I looked at Mr. Shepar who was starting to scribble things about chemistry onto the whiteboard near his desk.

And with that, school started for today.

* * *

I quickly packed up my stuff when school was done for the day.

I looked around for Crystal. She disappeared in what seems like a flash before I could ask her if she wanted to walk with me to the park.

I finished packing and started to run out of the classroom. But then Pat called for me. I walked over to where he was.

"Are you going home right away today?" he asked.

"No, not today. I have something to do." I replied.

"Oh, okay then." Pat said. He looked a bit disappointed.

He threw his yellow backpack over his shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Geo." Pat smiled.

"Of course." I smiled back.

Pat left the classroom. I secretly poked my head out of the doorway to see if he was gone. He was.

I threw my backpack over my shoulder and headed the opposite direction.

Park, here I come.

* * *

I somehow got out of school and into the park described by Crystal's note within a minute. You can break all kinds of records when you are nervous.

No one really knows about this park because it's so well hidden and small. A great place to discuss important matters. A great place to have a huge EM Wave Battle without being noticed.

Omega-Xis popped out of my Hunter-VGX.

"Geo, enter with caution. That girl might try to attack us."

"Gotcha."

Omega-Xis is right. I don't know if Crystal is my enemy or not. So I better be prepared for a fight if it leads to it.

I followed Omega-Xis's order. I entered with caution. I kept my Hunter-VGX in my hand just in case I needed to transform into Mega Man.

Turns out I did all that sneaking for nothing. Crystal was in the park, on a bench, reading a book quietly. She didn't even seem to notice me.

"Umm… Crystal?" I said.

Crystal jumped a little. I must have startled her. It seems she really didn't noticed my presence there. I'm pretty sure if she was going to attack me, she would at least have her guard up.

Crystal closed her book and gently placed it to her side on the bench. She then got off of the bench and walked over to where I was.

Crystal looked at me with a seriousness I seem to draw out of her too often. "So...you found my note…"

I nodded my head. She looked away from me.

"Do you have your AM-ian friend with you?" She asked.

I was a bit surprised. She can even tell Omega-Xis is an AM-ian.

"Yes. He's here."

She then turned around towards the bench she was sitting on momentarily ago.

She said, "Come and sit down. We have a lot to discuss, Mega Man."

A shiver went up my spine. I dislike it when strangers know I'm Mega Man.

She sat down at her bench and I sat down on one that was directly across from hers.

Omega- Xis and I agreed on that I have to be an aggressor in a situation like this I am definitely going to try the role today.

I started off the conversation. "Why were you at Wilshire Hills last night?"

She looked away. "I only went there for observation." Then she looked at me. "Then Dark Phantom unexpectedly appeared and attacked you."

"Observation?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Of what?"

"You."

I kinda expected that. "Why?"

"Because… I wanted to see if it was true. I wanted to see if you were the knight that I sent here for."

I was shocked. Someone sent her here for me, Mega Man. The question is: Who?

"Who sent you here for me?"

She looked down at the ground. "My parents…"

"Can I talk to them?"

"No you cannot… For it is a fact that they are no longer in this world…"

I getting more and more shocked as the talk continues. Crystal's parents -Crystal's _dead_ parents- sent her here to find me.

"My parents' last request was to find you and request for your help"

_Help?_ In _what_?

"Huh?" I said.

Crystal got up and said, "My Wave Partner will explain the rest for you."

She put out her hand to her right, signaling to look right. Since her partner is an EM Wave, I put on my Visualizer to see it.

I was shocked at what I saw. The EM Wave next to Crystal didn't look like an EM Wave at all. It looked… human. Crystal's EM Wave partner was an attractive woman in her - I'm guessing- twenties. She had extremely long white hair and purple eyes. She wore a long sleeveless dark purple dress that had little white stars at the bottom. What made her look inhuman was that she has lilac skin and her dress flowed in a way that caused where her legs would be to be a bright lilac flame. She was also floating and humans obviously can't float.

She said, "Hello, Mega Man. My name is Stella." She bowed a little.

Oh, so she's a bit fancy isn't she?

I panicked a little. "Umm… there's no need to bow or anything!"

Stella smiled a little. "That's very sweet of you."

I blushed a little.

Stella got serious now. "Now let's continue, shall we?"

Stella looked at Crystal. Crystal simply nodded.

Stella started to explain why Crystal was here.

"Do you know what a Star Guardian is?" Stella asked.

"No. I have never heard of one."

"How about you?" Stella meant Omega-Xis this time.

"Never heard of it either." Omega-Xis replied.

Stella suddenly broke her serious attitude by sighing and "_Oh great!_ Now I have to explain _EVERYTHING!_"

Omega- Xis and I both dropped our brows. Is she serious? I don't think we should trust Stella. She seems a bit too much like Ace.

Stella turned back to serious mode and continued. "Well, I'll try to shorten it then."

And may the long story begin.

"Long ago, in ancient times, where humans didn't exist on the earth yet, Le Mu, the great god of Mu, created the Star Network. The Star Network is basically the control panel for the entire universe's EM Waves. It creates and controls all EM Waves, just like Le Mu does. It's located in the star cluster, Pleiades."

Pleiades… Wait… Could that mean that the Star Network has something to do with the Noise levels and the new EM Wave Viruses?

"Usually Le Mu creates and controls the EM Waves in the universe but if something were to happen to it, the Star Network would have to take over. And, as we have all learned, _you_ destroyed Le Mu. So now, the Star Network has taken into effect."

Ouch...

"Sometimes, after a period of time, the Star Network starts to lose control of itself. So that's when a Star Guardian comes in. A Star Guardian is a person who is said to be chosen by the stars to join with the Star Network if it were to lose control of itself. In total, there are only seven Star Guardians born every century. Crystal is one of them…"

My eyes widened and scrolled over to Crystal.

This girl… is a Star Guardian…

Stella stopped for a moment and asked, "Surprising, right?"

I looked back at Stella. "Umm… Yes!" I responded nervously.

She smiled and said, "You can also tell right away if someone is a Star Guardian because they have a star on their forehead."

I walked over to where Crystal and Stella were.

Crystal lifted up her bangs and I saw a red star on her forehead. It wasn't tiny but it was small enough to be covered efficiently by her blonde bangs.

That's the mark of a Star Guardian… So Crystal really is a Star Guardian, according to the story Stella told us.

I walked back to where I was sitting and sat down.

Stella continued, "Now where I was?... Oh yes! Umm… I think it was about the seven Star Guardians…right?"

I nodded my head, making Stella smile.

"Good, now let's get back to where we were! Well, as I said, there are only seven Star Guardians born every century and Crystal is one of those seven. All seven are destined to join together to help the Star Network. Unfortunately, something rare has occurred…"

"Something rare?" Omega-Xis asked.

We both looked at each other for a moment, our eyebrows dropped again.

"Yes… Someone who knew of the Star Guardians wants to use them in order for that person to gain control of the Star Network. So far, that person's objectives are unknown at this point. We are pretty sure, however, that his or her purposes are most likely evil due to Crystal's past encounters with that person..."

Unknown objectives that are most likely evil. Likely? Geez, can't this at least be confirmed? Stella might be lying through her teeth right now!

"Unfortunately we don't know who that person is yet! All we know is that the person can EM Wave Change and has created an organization called the Star Hunters. The Star Hunters are EM Wave Changers who are taking the Star Guardians so that their goal may be completed. In over 3 years, the Star Hunters have found and taken the other six Star Guardians already! Crystal is the only one left now. And if the Star Hunters get her, they can take the Star Network!"

Stella started to get frantic.

"They could possibly destroy the world or worse! So, when death was near for them, Crystal's parents sent us to find you, probably the only person in the world who can protect her!"

"So basically, you're asking me and Omega-Xis to protect Crystal, correct?" I asked.

"Yes!" Stella responded.

Stella bowed in front of me. I looked down at her embarrassed. Oh please don't bow...

"Oh, please… in the place of Rosalia and Jasper Quartz, Crystal's parents… please protect Crystal. She's the only hope left in the world. And you're the only person who can protect this hope..."

I looked into Stella's eyes. They were so full of passion and hope. I can see that she really wants me to protect Crystal. And I know that she'll need to be protected from those Star Hunters. She is the last hope in the universe to stop the Star Hunters it seems…

I might be in doubt. However, when a person needs help, I seem to be the one who ends up helping. I think I should do this. No, in fact, yes, I will do this. I will help them. They need it.

I looked over at Omega-Xis with pleading eyes. He just let out a heavy sigh. I think even he knows that we need to help them.

"Fine. Let's do this."

I smiled at that.

"Alright!"

I got up out of my seat and looked over at Crystal and Stella. "It's a deal!"

Stella looked up at me and smiled. Crystal looked pretty surprised herself.

Stella said, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

I smiled and said, 'No problem!"

Crystal got up and curtsied. She said, "I hope I won't be a burden for you."

"That's okay. I've done this 'save the world' crap 3 times already. I'm used to it." I replied.

Stella and Crystal looked at me with utter disbelief. What? I can't be casual about this?

Omega- Xis finally joined into the conversation. "Why don't we have some introductions. I don't know how long we are going to have to protect Crystal, so it's better we find out more information about ourselves now so no problems will be found along the way."

I said, "Okay. That actually sounds like a pretty good idea."

I looked at Crystal and Stella. "You guys start off."

"Alright... I'm Crystal Quartz. I'm sixteen, going on seventeen in June. I EM Wave Change with Stella. I haven't come up with a fancy name for me yet like how yours is Mega Man."

A shiver went down my spine.

"I use ice-based attacks. However, I also have healing moves, so if you're ever hurt during battle, I can always help. Anyway… hmm… let's see... I like nature, mostly flowers... I have an extreme sweet tooth, as displayed yesterday, and... I can sing..."

Stella interrupted by saying, "It's true! She has an angel's voice. However, she has stage fright. _Severe_ stage fright!"

"Stella! Don't tell them that! It's not necessary for them to know that!" Crystal hid her face like she was embarrassed.

Stella just laughed while Crystal hid herself in pure shame. I can see these too probably know each other very well.

"Now onto me, right?"Stella asked.

Before I could answer she yelled cheerfully, "Okay!"

Stella continued, "Well, I'm Stella! I'm Crystal's EM Wave Partner! I refuse to tell you my age!"

I was about to smack my palm into my face.

"I was assigned to be her guardian since she was born. When her parents saw the 'star', they realized that Crystal needed to be protected. I was supposed to be given to her when she was eighteen. However, her parents unsuspectingly died when she was ten. They gave me to her before they passed. It's been six years. But still, I feel like an old lady!" Stella laughed.

I guess it's time for me to introduce myself.

"I'm Geo Stelar. I'm seventeen. As we all know, I EM Wave Change with Omega- Xis to become Mega Man. I find it odd that people refer to both of us as one person... Anyway, I like astronomy. I hope I can become an astronaut or an astrologist like my father when I get older. Truthfully, I'm a little shy and I'm too nice for my own good. But I do like doing good things. It feels good to do them!"

I looked at Omega-Xis. Omega-Xis sighed.

"I guess it's my turn. I'm Omega- Xis. I'm an AM-ian and Geo's EM Wave Partner. I first came to Earth as a runaway fugitive from Planet FM. The FM-ian king tried to destroy Earth but I stopped him by stealing the Andromeda key. I met Geo by accident. But after defeating the FM-ian king and fighting many more great battles with Geo, I decided to stay here. I kinda like Geo and his family. They are an odd bunch, but hey, they seem pretty alright."

Oh that's really nice... Wait. Did he just imply I am odd?... I'll have a _talk_ with him about this later. But right now, I will take the opportunity to ask Stella that question I had in my head.

"Umm… Stella, I have a question." I said

"What is it?" She asked.

"You mentioned earlier that the Star Network loses control of itself. What are the effects on Earth of this?"

"Well… I think one of the effects are those buggers you were fighting yesterday. The Star Network starts to create viruses like that and sends them to Earth by accident. Also, I think... 'Noise' believe you call it. Noise levels are really high since the viruses are created by Noise."

Just like Ace told me about the dust cloud of Pleiades. The Star Network must be directed related to Pleiades' weird activity. I might want to report this to the Satella Police… but Crystal's safety might be harmed… I think I better not.

After our talk, everyone went their separate ways.

* * *

As the sunset hit my back, I realized I was heading down another path that could ultimately lead to universal peace. It made me feel a bit good. But it also made me feel a bit nervous. It's nerve-racking just thinking about what will happen in the future.

But worrying about the future is unhealthy... I should stop worrying about that for now.

And I continued on my way home.

* * *

I got home safe and sound, no sign of EM Wave Viruses or those so-called Star Hunters. I dropped my bag by the door, kicked off my shoes, and plopped on the couch. Maybe I'll watch some TV.

"Tiring day, huh?" a voice said.

I looked up and there was Dad, smiling as usual.

I happily replied, "Hey, Dad! How was work?"

"Awesome! There was a test flight on the rocket today. It went excellent! Boss says it will be ready to go to space soon!"

"That's great!"

We were smiling like that for a while.

I love having these moments with Dad - moments where we are happy together. I think it's because we were separated for a long time. He missed a big part of my elementary school life. So I personally think that he is making up for those times he was gone by doing things like this with me.

It doesn't matter however to me. I'm just glad he is safe and sound back at home. Mom and I really missed him. It's unbelievable how one man can make so many people so happy!

Dad went into the kitchen and asked, "Are you okay?"

I said, "Yeah! Totally!" I lied.

"I don't think so…"

Dad came back to the living room with two quart-sized glass bottles of milk. He sat on the couch and handed me one of the bottles. I took it and opened it. I drank a gulp of it before I closed it again and put it on the coffee table in front of us.

"You've been a little uneasy these last three days. And I know it's not because you're catching the flu."

I could only giggle at that.

I remember when one day I had a bad day, Dad noticed, and I told him that I was catching the flu. I also remember he went crazy and started calling an ambulance and everything. Glad he realizes that mistake this time.

"Does it have to do with that EM Wave energy outburst I felt yesterday?" He said.

He caught me there.

Darn it… I had forgotten about Dad's "abilities". What I mean by that is that even though the scientists at Amaken sorta successfully changed my father back into a human, he still has some EM parts the doctors and scientists couldn't get out of him. One of them is the ability to sense other EM Waves. I guess he sensed the EM Wave Viruses from yesterday.

I couldn't lie now.

"Yeah…" I said.

Dad smiled and said, "Don't worry, kid. Anything is possible for you because you _are_ Mega Man."

And I also forgot to mention that Dad knows that I'm Mega Man. I told him shortly after we found him in space. I think he already figured I was the Blue Bomber himself. Mom also somewhat knows but cannot make the connection yet, so she doesn't know. Dad knows how to keep a secret so I completely trust him with my identity. He also promised he won't tell Mom unless in the time of dire emergency, for example if the world needs some saving again.

"I know but…" I said.

I ended up telling him about my current ordeal with Crystal, and the Star Network, and the Star Hunters, etc. It felt like a weight was lifted of my chest as I talked to him.

Dad didn't seem surprised. In fact, he seemed rather calm about it. Something's up.

He said, "I see… You know, I kind of figured that this would happen to you one day."

"Really?"

"Yep.", My father said, "Let me tell you one thing- everything that girl said is true."

"Wha- How do you-?"

"Let me tell you a story of how I came across this."

As Dad began to explain I began to drink the milk again.

"When I was in space, I passed by Pleiades. Boy was it a sight to see! It was _gorgeous_. I wish you were there with me to see it… Anyway, a Hertz, I believe that is what those blue thingies are called, told me the story of the Star Network and the Star Guardians. It also told me about those Star Hunters. In fact, I actually had to fight one of the Star Hunters during my travels."

I nearly choked on my milk. "What?!"

"Yes, I did, and I almost didn't make it home because of it."

I started to get scared. My dad almost… died… because of the Star Hunters…

My hands started sweating. I wiped off the sweat on my pants and continued to drink the milk.

He continued, "That guy was _strong_! But you know your old man - preserves 'til the end! I got him in the gut and he fell of the Wave Road! I don't think you'll run into him now!"

Dad had that cocky look on his face. I do believe he fought a Star Hunter but I don't believe that he punched him off the Wave Road.

"Okay. I'm kidding about that. Actually, I shoved him off the Wave Road. And he fell in a endless falling sequence."

I gave him that 'oh. I'm _so_ surprised.' look on my face.

He finally said, "Okay,_ fine_! _I admit it_! I ran away from him. He almost cut me in two but I zapped away just fast enough. Thank goodness he didn't come after me!"

Even though Dad was happy and stuff, I started to feel even more scared.

Dad must've noticed. So, he placed his hand on my head and looked in my eyes.

"Don't worry, kid. I know that you're scared. I don't want to lie to you. The Star Hunters are a group of dangerous people. They can be anyone, even people you trust. But let me tell you one thing- you're Mega Man. You've saved the world three times already- even from the FM-ian king! Those posers should be cowering in fear when they step foot in front of you! You are the strongest person I have ever met. Trust me. I wouldn't be able to save the world three times and do it again! But I know you're able to. Because you're my boy!"

He started to mess up my hair.

"_Dad…_" I said, embarrassed.

"Ha-ha! Anyway, don't give up, kid. You never gave up hope on me so don't give up hope on yourself."

Dad put his forehead against mine in a caring manner. I replied by closing my eyes and smiling.

"Thanks, Dad…" I whispered.

Our foreheads disconnected.

"No problem, kiddo! Now drink that milk. Every hero needs strong bones, right?"

"Right!"

We chugged down the rest of the milk in our bottles. After we were done, we simultaneously slammed the bottles onto the coffee table before us and breathed out loudly.

When we realized that we both just did the same thing at the same time, we looked at each other and started laughing.

"Thanks, Dad!" I said.

"For what? All I did was embarrass myself!" He replied.

"You cheered me up! I was so scared earlier… but now I feel great! I want to fight those Star Hunters right now!"A fire raged in my heart.

Dad could see it. "That's my boy!" Dad said with that famous big grin.

We burst out laughing.

I love these bonding moments we have together. This makes up for all those times he didn't get to play catch with me. This makes up for all those times he wasn't there in the morning eating breakfast with me and Mom. This makes up for a lot of times he missed when he was in space trying to get home to Earth.

I love my dad so much.

"I love you, Dad." I said.

Dad blushed and said, "Oh, c'mon, You're embarrassing me even more!"

I smiled happily.

"I'm just kidding. I love you too." Dad gave me a huge hug.

"Dad... Let go. You're choking me."

"I'm choking you with _love_!" Dad squeezed tighter.

I could only groan in response.

And that's how life is at home for me. Dad embarrasses me or himself greatly. And I have to deal with it somehow.

Mom seems to be the normal one in this family. She cooks, somehow deals with my father's b.s., and goes to work everyday... Wait... Oh no! I forgot to ask mom about her job again! Darn it!

* * *

After dinner, I laid in my blue bed. It was peaceful and quiet.

I was about to fall asleep when suddenly something felt fiery hot against my chest. It felt like it was trying to burn into my chest. So I, out of instinct, pulled on it quickly to get it away from it. Turns out the heat was coming from my dog tag.

I was confused. Why was my dog tag getting so hot?

The next couple of minutes, I just stared at it. I rubbed my thumb slowly against the engravings on the dog tag.

It still felt warm. And for some reason, it felt like someone was pulling it.

"I wonder... what you're doing right now, Pat...", I mumbled.

I knocked out momentarily.

* * *

In a dimly lit apartment, a familiar green-haired boy was on the floor, screaming in pain. Pat held his head within his shaking hands as if the source of his unbearable pain was coming from it. He thrashed about on the floor until his squinted eyes picked up the sight of his orange medication bottle.

"No!... I'm not going to allow this to happen!" he yelled.

Pat started to reach for scattered pills that were on the floor near him. He tried but then a deep painful force inside him stopped his hand from going any further. just continued to scream and rock back and forth on the wooden floors.

"NO! Get out of my head! I'm not going to allow you to do this again!"

He started to scream even louder. He was reaching his breaking point.

At his loudest, Pat shrieked, "GO AWAY! STAY AWAY FROM ME, REY!"

And then he broke.

The screaming stopped. The only source of noise in the small apartment now was just his hard breathing.

And then he rose. He walked like a zombie to the bathroom in his house. He flicked the lights on and slowly walked towards the sink. In the mirror, one couldn't see his eyes.

But then he looked up. "Pat" had an evil look in his eyes. His eyes were now yellow and lusting for evil to occur. What happened to the kind-hearted Pat before. This wasn't even Patrick Sprigs anymore.

This was a whole new person inside of Patrick's body.

Softly, this person said, "_I'm back..._"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four- Here Comes the Music

It's been about a week since I promised to protect Crystal.

I'm a bit surprised by how normal my life is right now. I thought that a lot was going to change for, seeing as now I might have to watch her a lot. Surprisingly, nothing happened. Everything's pretty normal: Chores, fighting EM Wave Viruses, doing homework, talking to the alien in your Hunter-VGX a lot... Yeah, "normal" stuff.

Omega-Xis and I decided the most we can do right now is just walk Crystal home and exchange phone numbers. If we did anymore, Crystal might feel uncomfortable. Shoot, the idea of hiding behind a bush to watch Crystal is making me feel like a creep already.

Crystal and I have become good friends every since then. As the saying goes, she's pretty "chill". I like that part about her. I thought she was going to be really girly like most girls. However, it turns out she's like another one of the boys. She actually understands

Today is Saturday. I wanted to go to Spica Mall today to look for something. Since I have to protect Crystal, I invited her along. Crystal seemed alright with it on the phone but when she got here she looked pretty upset. I wonder why.

I went into the store I wanted to go to. Crystal stayed outside. Ten minutes later I came out of the store with a white bag.

As we started walking again, I got enough nerve in me to ask her.

"Hey, Crystal, do you like shopping?" I asked.

Crystal replied firmly. "Not in places like this."

Wow. Crystal does really hate shopping...

I began to think about Luna for a second. Who wouldn't in a place like this? Luna is basically a mall rat. She's here all the time. I'm surprised she hasn't dragged Crystal on an adventure here...

Wait… Luna + Crystal + Shopping= Purgatory. I realized that Luna is going to try to force Crystal into shopping. Crystal, who hates shopping, is going to feel that she's in some kind of immoral torture for some unknown reason.

I stopped. Crystal stopped as well. "I should tell you now but Luna is going to ask to go shopping with her. And she's going to dress you up like a doll. And there's no getting out of it."

Crystal's eyebrows dropped at that. "I don't believe so. Luna may be girly but I don't think that she will actually do that to me."

I put my hand on Crystal's shoulder and seriously looked into her eyes.

"Trust me. From personal experience, it's going to happen to you. Be prepared."

Crystal looked a little freaked out but I think she got the point. She's doomed. So, she sadly continued walking. I joined her by her side and we left the mall.

It was nice outside today so I thought that we could take it slow for now. C'mon, it's Saturday and I already got what I wanted from here. So we stopped at a bench and chilled out. I breathed in the fresh air while Crystal looked at some flowers under a tree.

"What a great day it is today!" I said happily to no one in particular.

I looked over at Crystal. Crystal didn't seem like she was listening. She was just gazing at the flowers.

I walked over to where she was. She was looking at a bunch of tiny white flowers. I think those are called "Queen's Lace" or something. She seemed too interested in them so I left her alone and walked back to the bench.

I looked up at the sun for a while. It was doing its job as usual, bringing light and warmth to the world. I have a lot of time to just stare. To think too.

The Sun is a big star. Stars... Star Guardians... Star Hunters...

What are the Star Hunters like? Are they as strong as those viruses from last week? Or even stronger? So strong that Crystal had to come to get my help? Will I even be able to protect Crystal from them?

_"Geo- I mean Mega Man! The world needs your help again…"_

The world needs my help again…

I couldn't get that out of my head.

Why me? Just because I saved the world 3 times already doesn't mean I want to do it again! I want to live a normal life like a regular teenager!

But then I thought of those two kids. Those two kids that were killed... Because I wasn't there. Because I wasn't Mega Man. I realized that I am the only one who can do it. I am the Earth's only hope. I have to do it or else innocent people will die. Like those two children.

I'm Mega Man! I can't have doubt like this! Dad said that the Star Hunters should be struck in fear of even the uttering of my name! I can save this planet as many times as I want!

I said to the Sun, "Thanks… For clearing my head…"

I was completely in the zone until I started hearing noise from afar.

"Geo, look to your right." I recognize the voice to be Omega-Xis's. He popped out of my Hunter-VGX and looked the direction he told me to look.

I looked away from the sun and back at the scenery around me. I heard the sounds of clicking and saw a mob and flashing lights slowly approaching us. What the...

Crystal got up from her spot and walked to my side. "What is that?" Crystal asked worriedly.

I got up off the bench. I put down my Visualizer and said, "I don't know but I think we have a battle on our hands!"

I got really serious. I'm not messing around with this.

Suddenly, a black figure came zooming at me. Of course, being the idiot, I didn't notice until the last possible second. The figure rushed right into me and we fell onto the ground. I looked above and the figure was a person with black short hair and black shades on. The person slowly lifted his or her chest up. I tried to get up but the person was on top of me.

I asked seriously, "Who are you?!"

Something hit me in the face. Sunglasses. I looked up and I saw feminine grass-colored eyes.

"Oww… that hurt…" The figure said in a chirpy voice.

I recognize that voice… It's way too familiar… but who is it?...

"Sonia?" I asked.

"Geo?" the girl asked.

I realized who this girl on top of me was. She's Sonia Strumm, a very popular singer and a dear friend of mine.

"What happened to you? Have you suddenly turned goth or something?"

Sonia shhhhh'd me suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I'm running away from the paparazzi! They have been on my tail for weeks because my new album is coming out soon and they want all of the details. I'm getting real sick of it!"

Sonia started getting angry and she stomped her foot on the ground. The black hair on her head was starting to fall off, revealing her naturally magenta hair. Wait... That's a wig isn't it?... Wait, a full out disguise? Wow, that's crazy. The paparazzi have been following her so much that she had to resort to wearing such a get-up. I feel sorry for her… Oh all right!

I grabbed Sonia's hand and said, "Follow me! Crystal, you come too!"

Sonia said, "A- Alright."

* * *

For about 20 minutes we ran around the area near Spica Mall. Man those paparazzi can run! We got near the entrance of the mall and I formulated a plan. We rushed inside and ran into a women's clothing store. We hid behind some mannequins, watching the paparazzi run right past the store. When the coast was clear we got up and left the store.

Sonia took off her wig and black trench coat. She doesn't look much different from when we were kids. Lots of pink with some random neons here and there. I do notice that she doesn't have the hood on her hoodie over her hair as it was before. In fact, I noticed the orange music note barrette in her hair. Was it always there? I have no clue. And of course she has her guitar on her back.

Sonia Strumm, like I said earlier, is an extremely famous singer. She has been performing ever since we were kids. The beauty behind her catchy lyrics and instant-platinum beats is because of her mother. Before we first met, Sonia's mother passed away from a disease. So Sonia wrote music so her mother can hear them from Heaven. I think it's a really sweet thing she does. Spending hours upon hours just scribbling music on paper and playing her guitar, hoping to find a new hit that her mother will love. And I personally believe Sonia's rise to fame has only been achieved through this earnest desire to sing for her mother. And somewhere up there, Sonia's mother told Lady Luck to give her daughter some props.

Around the same time Sonia's mother passed, my father also got lost in space. Sonia and I were both devastated about the loss of one of our parents and, somehow, through that sorrow, we established an unbreakable friendship. We practically grew up together now that I think about it. Because all of those times we spent together- those times when we motivated each other, those times when we had to be each other's shoulder to cry on, even those times when we had fun and fooled around- are the times we grew farther from boys and girls and closer to men and women.

Sonia can also EM Wave Change with her Wizard Lyra (who is also an FM-ian by the way) to become Harp Note. Sonia originally met with the FM-ian after a fight with her manager about her retirement. However, just like Omega-Xis, Lyra just stayed with Sonia. Sonia is a pretty strong fighter on the Road and has assisted me countless times without even thinking twice about it.

Overall, Sonia is an passionate singer and skilled battler. A real Siren of Pop, according to the headlines. And I'm in love with her.

I am pretty sure you all have just either spat out your drink or are not even surprised. Yes, I, Geo Stelar, the nerdy star lover no one really knows about, is head over heels for Sonia Strumm, the famous singer that is all over magazines, tv shows, music reports, even advertisements for drinks. Some of you might find it weird. I don't mind. If I told someone who didn't understand how we met and know each other, they would find it pretty normal.

I have to admit, I didn't realize I had romantic feelings for Sonia until about a year ago. I hadn't contacted her in 5 years by then so I had a lot of time to think. First off, I have all of Sonia's albums, posters, et cetera in a box in the back of my closet. That is really creepy, I know. And I'm not going to explain why that junk is there. You can figure that part out yourselves. Second, whenever I listen to her music or find some old t-shirt I bought from a website or something, I can't but feel this weird fluttery feeling in my heart. Third, whenever I could catch her on a TV show or something, I felt butterflies in my stomach. I also thought I was feeling sick again. So, I told my father and Omega-Xis about it. Both said that I was definitely in love. Omega-Xis mocked me while my Dad skipped around the house, chanting "My son's in love with Sonia Strumm!".

So yes, the end of this story is that I am friends with a popular rock singer and I want to be more than friends with her.

"Umm… Geo? Are you okay?" Sonia asked.

I jumped when she said that. I must have zoned out again. Ah great… Right in front of Sonia too… I'm so embarrassed. She was a little worried for a moment but then smiled. Crystal was the same as usual- worried on the outside, happy on the inside.

Sonia asked, "So… who is this chick?" She points at Crystal.

Crystal didn't seem to understand. I was kinda confused why Sonia was looking so irritated right now.

I responded nervously, "Umm… well… uhh…"

Sonia spat out, "OH WHATEVER!"

Crystal looked worried as Sonia walked away. "I hope I didn't do anything to upset her…"

We followed Sonia out of the mall, looking out for the paparazzi. We made it out to the little tree-lined area around the mall. Crystal sat down on a bench across from me. And Sonia sat next to me, which made my heart skip a beat. I looked at Crystal, who seemed a little uneasy. I was going to ask her about it, but Sonia interrupted.

"Thanks for helping me with those goons earlier!" She said.

I looked at Sonia and smiled. At least, most probably, an awkward situation was prevented… Wait… Did she just call those paparazzi guys 'goons'? Wow, she really doesn't seem to like them.

"You're welcome…" I somehow said.

Crystal said, "I'm sorry if I made you upset earlier."

"Huh? You noticed?" Sonia said, a little confused.

I was shocked. Sonia is so open with her thoughts! How brave!

"It's alright. I sometimes get a little frustrated. But afterwards, I'm a-okay!" Sonia said, smiling.

Crystal smiled back.

"I'm sorry. I never caught your name."Sonia said to continue the conversation.

"I'm Crystal Quartz. I recently transferred to Geo's high school."

"Really? From where?"

"Crescent Moon Island."

"Ooohh… I have never heard of it…"

"I would have figured… It's a very small island and we don't have much modern technology on it."

"Really? That's kinda cool! Where's the island?"

"In the Mahaba Islands." Crystal looked away uneasily. The subject of her hometown might make her feel… sad. I looked at her for a moment until the conversation continued.

"Anyway…who are you?" Crystal asked. She pointed at Sonia.

Sonia looked shocked. "Huh? You don't know who I am?"

"No, not at all." Crystal said.

"HUH? You don't recognize me?"

"No."

"Singer? Pop? Guitar? Lots of Albums? Starry Sky? Happy?" Sonia asked.

"No."

Sonia went on to name ALL of her songs and albums (I knew most of them) and every answer from Crystal was 'no'. After identifying everything about herself and career, Sonia gave up and huddled up in an imaginary emo corner.

"I'm sorry that I don't know who you are… but now I do."

Sonia looked up at her.

"I now know that you are Sonia Strumm, you are a very popular pop singer, you are the same age as me, and you have various platinum albums including the one that's about to come out."

Sonia's spirits went back to normal and she smiled. She seemed so glad that Crystal knows about her now. Sonia grabbed Crystal's hands eagerly. There were stars in Sonia's eyes.

"So… are you going to buy my album?"

Crystal replied, "I guess so… since I have actually met you."

"YAY!"

Sonia hugged Crystal and started jumping up and down. I guess Sonia loves "new recruits". I laughed without knowing it. Sonia noticed. She walked up to me and gave me a irritated but, in my opinion, adorable look. Oh gosh, is my face getting red again?

"Why are you laughing? Are you mocking me…" Sonia said.

"No, not at all!" I said.

Sonia, still dissatisfied, gave up her interrogation and grabbed my hand. I blushed as she dragged me into the mall. Crystal followed behind.

Sonia finally stopped dragging me when we were on the other side of the mall. I was out of breath by the time that she let go. I looked around and Sonia and Crystal started to talk about random junk that didn't sound too important.

While Crystal and Sonia were talking, suddenly, a strange girl came zooming at us. She bumped into us, knocking all of us, including herself, down onto the floor.

"Hey... are you two alright?" I asked.

"Yeah..." Sonia said.

Crystal nodded.

We all turned toward the girl who had knocked us over. She had brown hair in two shoulder length pigtails and childishly big brown eyes. She looked like a detective a little with her beige trench coat and newsboy hat. But she seemed also pretty normal since she wore pink shorts, mustard socks, and burgundy booties. Before I could see anything else, the girl got up in a scrambled up mess and ran away.

Sonia and I were completely confused. Crystal seemed worried.

"I think something was off about her." Crystal said.

We both turned to Crystal.

"She seemed in desperation."

"Desperation?"

"Yeah... "

"That's kinda odd."

"It is. I wonder if she needs help..."

I looked into Crystal's eyes. Is it just me or did they just turn ruby then change back to amethyst? It's probably just my imagination.

Sonia said, "I hope that girl is alright..."

I said, "Me too."

I have a bad feeling about this...

Suddenly the floor shook below us. Well, right on cue.

A crowd of people came running toward. Before we go trampled by them, I grabbed Crystal and Sonia and dragged them into a nearby store. When the crowd ran away, a man with a red cap on slowed down and was out of breath. We ran towards him.

"Why were those people running away?"

"There was an explosion in the event area! I don't know what caused it but all of a sudden everyone started running away!"

We all looked at each other.

I turned back around and told the man, "Thanks!"

We all started running towards the explosion.

"W-Wait! You guys are going in there?!"

"Yeah! So?"

"Are you guys nuts?!"

"Nope! Just being citizens!"

And the three of us continued onward.

* * *

We made it to the event area. The guy we talked is surely right about one thing. There clearly was an explosion. The whole event area is wrecked. What could have happened?

Viruses. EM Wave Viruses. I put on my Visualizer and I saw tons of EM Wave Viruses running all over this area. My prediction was right.

"Sonia, there's EM Wave Viruses all over here!"

"Right! Lyra, you heard that?"

Lyra visualized. "Yep! I can see these little pests all the way from your Hunter- VGX, Sonia!"

"Be careful, though, they look dangerous."

I look at Crystal. She looked at me seriously. Again, I noticed her eyes were a tad ruby. Then they changed back to amethyst. I'm sure it isn't just me who's seeing this...

"Stella, I'm going to EM Wave Change."

"Alright, Crystal! Let's go!"

Crystal snapped the crystal from her necklace off of her neck and put it in a special gauge in her Hunter-VGX.

"EM Wave Change! Crystal Quartz! On-Air!"

She then span in a circle and raised her Hunter-VGX to the sky. She then clicked a button on her Hunter-VGX and a lilac light descended from the heavens onto her. When the light disappeared, Crystal was in her EM Wave Form.

"Wait, you can EM Wave Change?!"

"Yes.

"Lyra! Let's go!"

"I'm ready whenever you are, Sonia!"

"Transcode! No. 004! Sonia Strumm! On- Air!"

A light pink light came down from the sky and it hit Sonia. When the light disappeared, Sonia was in her EM Wave Form, Harp Note, ready to rumble.

"Geo! Let's go buck- wild on these viruses!"

"Umm... Yeah!" I said "Transcode! No. 003! Mega Man! On- Air!"

A light blue light fell from the sky and hit me. When it disappeared, I was Mega Man.

"It's been awhile since I last EM-Wave battled!

"Me too. Sorta."

"Sorta?"

"Long story." Omega- Xis said. "Let's go already! I'm getting bored!"

"Right!"

Sonia and I ran into the crowd of viruses. While I was running, I swore Crystal said something. But it's too late now. Sonia and I were already fighting.

Sonia jumped on to a Wave Road high above all of the viruses. She strummed a note on her guitar. It turned into a heart.

"Pulse Song!"

It hit the viruses and created a little dust that blocked the viruses from view.

"Bull's eye!"

When the dust disappeared, the viruses were still there unharmed.

Sonia was pretty surprised. "What the- I thought I got them!"

I jumped up to the Wave Road that Sonia was on.

"Maybe this will work!" I said, "Predation! Radar Missiles!"

Red and white missiles appeared out of thin air and came zooming at the viruses. The missiles seemed to finally hit the viruses as they seemed to have disappeared. When the smoke flew away, the viruses were still there, still unharmed.

"What's going on? Why isn't my attacks working?"

A voice said, "I was right! There's something wrong with these viruses."

"Huh! What the- Where is that voice coming from?" Sonia said startled.

What Geo and Sonia didn't realize was that Crystal had jumped up onto the Wave Road. Crystal showed Sonia her staff.

The voice said, "Sorry for startling you!" The voice giggled.

Due to the giggling, I figured the voice is Stella. Stella seems to giggle a bit too much.

"Oh, I think we never met! Hi, I'm Stella! I'm Crystal's Wizard!"

I can write this stuff, can't I?

"Oh, uh- I'm Sonia Strumm!"

"And I'm Lyra!"

"Stella, what's going on?"

"Well, if you guys didn't rush, you would have heard me say 'Wait!'. I actually had something important to tell you guys."

"What is it?" Sonia asked.

"Geo, remember last week when those viruses in Wilshire Hills appeared? These appear to be same type." Crystal said.

"Huh? There was trouble in Wilshire Hills? I shoulda helped out..." Sonia said.

"It's alright. You probably weren't there anyway." I said.

"As I was saying, these viruses seem to be a lot stronger and dangerous than the usual type you two fight, right? It seems that they are infected by the Star Network's Noise. In order to defeat them, we need to find the host."

"Host? Like a parasite?" Sonia asked.

"Sort of. This kind of host is one that is protecting the other viruses. All we need to do is defeat the host and most probably either the viruses will go away or the viruses will be easier to defeat."

"Really? That sounds easy!" I said.

"Actually, its not. Hosts are very powerful. Usually they look similar to the viruses they summon."

"Great.."

"But with teamwork, we should be able to find the host and defeat it with ease." Crystal said, finishing with a small smile.

"That's great!" Sonia said.

"Yeah! Let's find that host!" I said.

Sonia and I were about to jump down from the Wave Road but Crystal told us to wait. This time we heard so we came back.

"I didn't finish."

"Woops. Sorry..." Sonia and I said in unison.

"It's alright."Crystal said, "Anyway, I was going to tell you a little bit more about the hosts before we go and fight. Hosts, as I said earlier, are powerful and they look similar to the viruses they summon. 9 times out of ten, though, the host is a different color from the other viruses. For example, there are 5 yellow Mettennas and 1 purple Mettenna. Most probably the one purple Mettena is the host."

"Hmm... A different color... That's interesting..." Omega- Xis said from my arm.

"Sometimes, though, the host will be the same color from the other viruses. Also, there might be multiple hosts. So we need to play attention in order to defeat all of the hosts."

"So all we need to do is find the virus that has a different color from the rest, destroy it, and the job is done?"

"Yep."

"OK then. Now can we go buck- wild on the viruses?" Omega- Xis asked.

"Yes. You can now go buck- wild on the viruses, Omega- Xis."

"Yahoo!"

Omega- Xis pulled my arm down towards the viruses.

"AHHHHHHHH! OMEGA- XIS, STOP!" I yelled.

Sonia and Crystal just facepalmed themselves.

* * *

Hey! Sonia Strumm here! Right now I can't talk because I am super busy. Right now, me, Geo, and his friend, Crystal, are looking for a host thingie. I hope we can find it soon so I can continue hanging out with them.

"Lyra, you see anything?"

"Nuh-uh. Sorry, Sonia."

"It's alright. Let's keep looking."

This is harder than I thought it would be. I am getting pretty frustrated! Urrrggggghhhhhhh!

Okay, Sonia, calm down. Let's just look this over, alright? There are all these red and black spider thingies with hammers. Then there was that one that was yellow and blue all the way over there... Wait...

"Lyra! I think I found it!"

"Good job, Sonia! Tell Geo and that other girl!"

* * *

When Omega- Xis finally stopped dragging me around, I heard Sonia's chirpy voice call my name. I looked up and there she was. She looked pretty darn happy about something.

"Geo! I find it! I find the host! It's the yellow and the blue one all the way to the right."

So I started running right...

"Umm... I mean my right!"

"Oh thanks!"

"Crystal, Let's go!"

"Right!"

The two jumped down from the Wave Road to the area where the suspected host was.

I started the assault. "Predation! Cannon!"

My arm turned into a cannon and I started shooting at the spider. It hissed loudly, meaning my shots worked on it. But I think its angry now.

"Uh oh. I think you ticked it off." Sonia said.

"It's coming! Get ready everyone!" Crystal said.

The spider started creeping towards us. Then it stopped.

"Did it give up?" Lyra asked from Sonia's guitar.

Suddenly, the host started absorbing all of the other viruses. When the absorption of the viruses was done, the host spider was absolutely friggin' huge! It was like a story high! It hissed again and let me tell you, it scared the living crap out of me.

"I think we should use Plan B..." I said.

"What's Plan B?"Crystal asked.

"RUN!"

And may the goose chase begin.

* * *

We all ended to start getting chased by the spider for about... 20... 40 minutes tops, all while screaming at the top of our lungs. It wasn't fun at all.

Crystal finally stopped running. "Why are we letting ourselves be chased by this host. It's only a spider!"

"Yeah. A huuuuuuuge spider!" Sonia said.

"Whatever! It's just a spider! And it needs to be squashed!"

"True... But how..."

We started to think for a second. Suddenly, Sonia's eyes widened a little as if she thought of something.

"I know! You guys go distract it! I got a plan."

Sonia started to hop away from us.

"Okay, that sounds kinda easy... Ready?"

Crystal nodded.

I whistled loudly. The host noticed the whistle, turned around, and started to chase Crystal and I. The two of us ran away to where Sonia now was.

"Watch this! Lyra and I made this super cool attack a few years back!"

She jumped up to the Wave Road directly above us. Crystal and I watched in awe as Sonia's "super cool attack" began.

Sonia strummed a note and strings from her guitar popped onto the enemy.

"Machine Gun String!"

The strings tied the spider up.

Sonia smiled that really pretty smile I've always liked. "Yesss!"

"Is that it? 'Cause I'm not impressed!"

Sonia gave my arm an irritated look. "No, Mega! In order for me to do my super cool attack, the virus can't move!"

"Sonia, we should hurry! That 'thing' is ripping the strings!"

"Right!"

Sonia summoned two big pink speakers behind her. A pink heart started to appear under the spider. Sonia lifted her guitar pick in the air.

"Siren Song!"

She played a wicked guitar solo. As each note was strummed, pink music notes were formed and crashed into the huge spider. When Sonia finished, the host was destroyed. All of the other viruses disappeared with it.

All right! Sonia did it!

"Sonia! That was awesome!" I shouted.

Sonia smiled happily and gave me a thumbs up.

"Thanks!"

Sonia jumped back down to the Wave Road Crystal and I were on. She ran over to Crystal, grabbed her hands, and started jumping up and down with her. Crystal looked completely confused but joined in on the jumping. I looked absolutely confused. I'm pretty positive that Crystal and Sonia will become best friends or as they call it "BFFS".

"Let's go celebrate!" Sonia said.

"Celebrate?" I asked.

"Yeah! Let's all go out and get something to eat. My treat, 'kay!"

"A-Alright! Let's go then!"

Woohoo! Free food!

* * *

**We all transformed back into our regular human forms and left Spica Mall as if nothing happened. Outside, the Satella Police was there. I looked around to see if Ace was there, but it seemed he wasn't here after all. What a shame. It would have been nice to report in on what happened.**

So we continued on our way to a restaurant that Sonia said had the best ribs in the world. She said it wasn't far but it felt like forever before we finally got there.

After about five minutes, we were already at our table. It had three seats, enough to hold us all. We all sat down and read the menus. Hmm... That burger is making my mouth water...

The waiter came by. "What do you all want to drink?"

"One Moca- Mola, please!" Sonia said happily.

"May I have a Flite..." Crystal said.

"I'll have Orange Juice." I said.

"OK... I'll be right back with your drinks..." and the waiter left.

When the waiter turned the corner, Sonia said, "Today seems to be the best day of my life!"

"Me too!" I replied happily.

Crystal responded by smiling at us.

The waiter came back with our drinks.

As he gave us our drinks, he asked, "Are you guys ready to order?"

A simple yup and the three of us gave our orders to the waiter. Once again, he left.

Sonia lifted up her drink in the air. She said, "I call for a toast!"

Crystal and I both put our drinks in the air too.

"This toast is for celebration of a well deserved victory!" Sonia continued.

We clinked our glasses together and said, "Cheers!"

Then I took a sip of the wonderful orange juice in my cup.

* * *

**Two black figures from a distance looked at the three partying.**

"Is that the girl who we have to get?" This figure had a high pitched ultra-feminine voice.

"Yes." This figure had a stereotypical witch-like voice.

"And when I bring her back to your base, you're going to complete the promise we made, right?"

"Of course... I wouldn't dare break a promise with you."

"That's great!"

The figure with the girl voice looked up to the sky. "Just you wait, Dad. I'll get my revenge for you."

The light from the moon shined on her face. It revealed the face of a brown eyed teenage girl with a yellow hat on.

"Don't worry, Haley. You'll get your revenge. I promise. Just make sure you capture the blonde... the Star Guardian!"

"Right!"

* * *

After everyone ate, we went our separate ways and I somehow ended up home, exhausted from all of the "good cheer" from Sonia. I closed the door, kicked off my shoes, and plopped on the couch. Mom happened to be in the dining room when I came home. She walked over to me.

"Hi, Geo."

"Hi, Mom!"

"You look exhausted! What happened?"

"Well..."

How am I going to explain that I spent all day being chased around by some gigantic spider thingy in Spica Mall? Then afterwards, I celebrated with my teammates.

"Uh... I ran into Sonia at the mall today..."

Mom gasped.

"Really? Did you 'make a move'?"

"What?!"

That's right... Mom also knows I'm in love with Sonia. However, she pushes it a little too far. It kinda creeps me out how she reacts like this: Getting so excited over something as simple as running into my first love in the mall.

"Ah- Ah- Of course not!"

"Aww... That stinks..."

Wait... Aren't I forgetting something... Oh yeah that's right! I gave Mom the bag I had earlier.

"Happy Birthday, Mom!"

"Aww... Thank you, Geo."

She kissed me on the cheek.

"Mom! Not again!"

She pulled out of the bag my present: A new t-shirt. I can sometimes overhear my mother complaining about how boring her clothes are. So I thought, maybe I can buy her a shirt or something. By the look on her face, she seemed pretty surprised and pretty happy.

"Ah! This is exactly what I wanted!"

The front door opened and closed, and there came Dad. Mom got up and practically tackled him to the ground.

"Hi, honey..."

Out of anyone in the world, only Mom can tackle Dad to the ground. And she has a record for it.

Mom started laughing. Dad looked like he was dead as he tried to regain his breath.

"So... Where's my present?"

Suddenly Dad was alive again when his eyes widened. Uh oh, don't tell me...

"Umm... Well... You see..."

Dad did forget today is Mom's birthday! Oh man, is Mom going to be mad!

Mom gave him a smile that seemed to be curved with a tad bit of intimidation.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"Uh... Well... What had happened was..."

Oh no... He even busted out the "What had happened was..." excuse... Dad seemed to be even more scared.

"You really did forgot my birthday..."

I think a 'Luna' is about to happen. I better get out. I was about to run out of the room before Dad grabbed my ankle.

"Please! HELP!"

"Umm...no."

"WHYYY?"

"Because I'm not getting involved. I remembered Mom's birthday and I gave her a present. It's time you pay up for your forgetfulness."

I somehow shook off Dad from my ankle.

"You're grounded!"

"I think you're grounded, Mister." Mom answered with utter malice in her voice.

I turned back around and saw Dad's poor little soul escape from his mouth. And I also saw Mom had a devilish look on her face and a frying pan in hand. I just continued up the stairs. When I was safely in my room, I locked my door, put a chair under the knob, and changed into my pajamas. I snuggled up in bed.

"Honey! I was busy! I forgot! I'm really sorry!"

Poor poor Dad... I think I should have helped just a little...

"WE'VE BEEN MARRIED FOR 20 YEARS AND YOU STILL DON"T REMEMBER MY BIRTHDAY?!"

On second thought, I'm glad I didn't help.

Wait...

"Dang it!"

"What is it?" Omega-Xis was floating next to me.

"I forgot to ask my mom about her job again!"

He just shook his head and turned away. "... Whatever..."

And that's how my day ended. My Dad was getting owned downstairs by Mom while I slept cozily in bed. Poor Dad... serves him right, though.

* * *

Hmm... Something's definitely wrong... Why do I feel as though... someone is watching us?

This is Omega-Xis here. I'm trying to figure out why do I feel like this. My eyes wandered out of Geo's window in his room. I looked up and saw something black on a streetlight. I blinked and it was gone. That's strange... Was it- no it can't be!

I looked at Geo, who was sound asleep, even slobbering saliva all over his pillow. How can he not sense- oh yeah... he's human. Only his father can sense EM Waves.

Geo, I hope that you are prepared for what I sense is coming.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Calming Presence

I love it when I sleep. It's the time when I can unconsciously not worry about the world for a moment. Plus I usually dream of great things- fame, fortune, Sonia, stars, comets, asteroids, Sonia, shooting stars-  
Then a song started to play out of nowhere in my dark room. Oh what the heck... The beat sounds familiar though. I think it has lyrics so I'll wait a second.

_"On both the Wave Road_

_And in the Real World_

_I looked up at the sky_

_And I felt so alone_

_I wanted a connection_

_But I didn't really try_

This sounds like a song Sonia would sing... I don't remember the song though. I turned back because it was actually really nice and kinda making me fall asleep again.

_I was afraid to be lied to_

_So I never got close_

_I buried away the loneliness_

_deep down inside_

_And I just kept on singing_

Then the beat changed. I do remember this song! Just who wrote it and the name of it is out of my mind right now.

_Until starlight shined on me_

_And touched my heart_

_It was the day I met you_

_That our link... was discovered_

Then the beat slowed. Now I remember the song! It is a song Sonia made! Just the darn title!

_You found me... At my worst_

_Shooting Star_

_You guide me in the dark_

Oh yeah! This is Shooting Star! I remember this song! It's my all time favorite song by Sonia! But why is it playing so early in the morning.

_Your smile gives me hope_

_I'm not afraid of anything_

_I'll keep looking to the sky_

_Grasping for light_

OH CRAP! It's my alarm clock going off! That's why! It can't be seven already!

_Your smile fills my heart-_

I jumped out of bed and quickly hit the off button on my Hunter-VGX.

Omega-Xis must've seen my reaction because he was laughing his butt off.

"Woke up late?" He asked.

"Duh!" I said. I grabbed my towel and ran out of the room.

I heard Omega-Xis shout, "You know the song repeated four times right?"

Then I ran even faster down the hall. Omega-Xis was rolling by this point. Why didn't anyone wake me up?! I woke up so late today! If I don't get my butt in that bathroom, I'm going to be late. I literally jumped into the shower, not even waiting for the water to get hot. How far is school again? Ah, right! The other side of the town! How freaking convenient! Ah- Why am I wasting my time thinking! Get out of here now!

After my shower, I ran at supersonic speed back into my room and changed into today's clothes. Geez! I still can't believe I overslept! Body clock, I didn't tell you to take the day off!

After putting on my clothes, I ran down the stairs and saw Pat already there, smiling as usual.

"Morning!" I said.

"Hi, Geo!" Pat said.

I walked over to him, still trying to smooth down the front of my pesky hair. When I was in front of him, I just gave up my task and slide on my Visualizer over the mess. Thank goodness for this Visualizer. It not only helps me see the Wave World but it also saves me on bad hair days.  
He looked pretty excited this morning. He was kinda jittery, as I looked down and noticed his hands were trembling a little.

"What are you so excited for? You usually aren't a morning person." I asked curiously.

"Well..." Pat said. "I-I really don't know why! I just feel really p-pumped today!"

"What? For the history test results?"

"Of course not! It's just I feel... rejuvenated this morning! I feel brand spanking new for some reason!"

"Maybe because didn't stay up all night and watch horror movies like you usually do and finally got some sleep."

"Oh no, I watched the whole Friday the Last movies series last night! By the way, hilarious!"

"Hilarious? That's classic horror, man!"

Pat started laughing.

Don't ever take Pat to a horror movie. Just don't. Don't even reason why is because Pat absolutely loves horror movies. He doesn't think they're scary at all. He finds them time, everyone went to the movies to see "Paranormal Living" (one of the scariest horror movies ever made) as a dare. It was really scary; jump scares everywhere. The whole time I was screaming and shutting my eyes. Pat, though, was going hysterical. He was laughing so much, he started to tear up a little. When the torture was finally over he said, "That was so funny! I can't wait for the sequel!" I wonder how he reacts to comedy movies.

"Boys, breakfast is ready!" I heard Mom say cheerfully from the kitchen.

"Yes!" We both said joyously.

We both ran to the table. The table was covered with tons of food, from eggs to waffles to even bacon. It seemed to glow with a certain kind of beauty only found in the sights and aromas of greasy breakfast food. Or maybe we were just starving. Anyway, this is what Zack calls an "epic win".

We both ran to the table and grabbed our plates. We put a mountain of food on our plates and started to devour our food.

Meanwhile, Dad came in. The first thing I saw was a huge lump on his head. It looks like Mom's "moment" last night left that there.

"Mr. Stelar! What happened to your head?" Pat said worried.

"Nothing. Just nothing. All I know is my absolutely gorgeous wife's birthday is and forever will be April 17th..."

Dad looked so dull he didn't do his signature big grin today. I feel terrible. I should have helped him out!

Suddenly Dad started to smile. I am guessing he looked at the table. He grabbed a plate and shouted, "Oh honey! You felt sorry for me?"

Mom came in with a bowl. She said, smiling wickedly, "Oh, no..." Mom practically shoved the bowl into Dad's hand. "This is your breakfast...honey!"

Dad looked like he wanted to cry. Mom made him oatmeal for breakfast. And Dad hates oatmeal with a passion. This is what Zack would call an "epic fail".

"I thought that the boys deserved such a good breakfast for all of their hard work so far this year. So I made all these food for them. " Mom said. "I hope you enjoy your breakfast too, sweetheart!"

With a huff and a turn, Mom went back into the kitchen.

Dad quickly gave me the evil eye. "Traitor..." he whispered.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help you last night. I didn't want to get involved."

"You could have at least said something! You saw your mother had that pan! And you know she's very skilled in Pan-jitsu!"

"I know. And that's exactly why I didn't get involved."

"What's going on? Did something happen last night?" Pat asked.

"I'll tell you later." I said.

"Don't do it! It's already embarrassing enough! Plus I'm going to have to either cover it up or find a way to explain to my co-workers about it." Dad said.

"It's okay, Mr. Stelar. In fact, I can already figure what happened." Pat said.

Dad and I looked at Pat with curiosity. "Yesterday, it was Mrs. Stelar's birthday. You probably forgot again for the 20th time. Mrs. Stelar was mad. She did chop socky on you. The end." Pat said.

Dad looked shocked. Then he fell into an emo corner. I came over to him and gave him some bacon. Dad looked absolutely happy. He ate it with such pure happiness in his eyes I thought he was a dog getting a dog snack after hours upon hours of giving it's owner the puppy dog eyes.

Then, I heard Mom say its time for us to go. Pat finished his food up and put the plate in the sink. We grabbed our stuff and headed out the door.

On the way out, I said, "Bye Mom! Good luck with hiding the lump on your head, Dad!"

I heard Dad say, "Hey!" from the dining room. I laughed and went on ahead.

* * *

Pat and I are now in front of Crystal's apartment complex. Like I mentioned earlier, Crystal has joined us on our walks to school. And like I also mentioned, Pat seems to enjoy it. Crystal lives in an apartment near my house, so we don't have to travel far. When we got there, Crystal was outside. She was looking at some tulips.

"Umm... Crystal?" I said.

Crystal turned around. She saw us and blushed. She quickly picked up her purple tote bag and walked over to us.

"Umm... sorry..." Crystal said, looked away from us.

Pat smiled and said, "It's alright."

"We should get going." I said.

We started on our way to school, not in any big rush. Its only 7:56. School starts at 9:30 (so cool, I know). We were walking through our usual shortcut through the park when Pat stopped. Crystal and I stopped also.

"Pat, why did you stop?" I asked.

Pat said, "I think I forgot something at home. Go on ahead without me." Pat started to walk the other way. "I'll see you guys in homeroom!" He said.

"OK, see you then!" I said back.

When Pat was out of our sight, we continued walking.

It was such a nice day. The temperature was just right too. Not too cold, not too hot. It's perfect! I could walk for hours and hours and not get tired when there are days like this.

We walked slowly through the park until we got to a path that I never seen before. It was lined by these thick trees I don't think I've ever walked by whenever I went in the park.

We walked until we saw a girl. The back of her seems familiar...We walked a little bit more until she noticed us. She turned around and smiled happily. She started jumping up and down happily.

"Yes! It worked! I got her! I caught the Star Guardian!"

Crystal and I were instantly in shock! Oh crap! I remember now! It was that freaky girl I saw in the mall that day! And she knows Crystal's a Star Guardian! We're in it deep now!

"Aquarius, what do I do next?" She said. She looked to her right and smiled.

Crystal looked at me. I noticed the amethysts of her eyes were now ruby again.

"Geo! Put on your Visualizer!" Omega-Xis said.

What the? Omega-Xis had popped out of my HUnter-VGX without me realizing.

I quickly swiped my Visualizer over my head. I saw a EM Wave next to the girl in front of us. It was electric blue with gold armor and cuffs. It's eyes were white and shaped in a way that only showed she was thinking evil today.

"Who are you two?" I yelled out.

"None of your business, boy!" The EM Wave snapped at me. "Haley, EM Wave Change!"

"Right!" She said.

The girl put her hand up in the sky. Wind started to form around it.

Crystal said, "Geo! Look out!"

"EM Wave Change! Haley Artisan! On Air!" The girl said.

The wind surrounded the girl. When the wind disappeared, she was in a EM Wave form of sorts. Her skin turned dark gray. Her eyes had turned neon blue. She now had neon purple tattoos on her arms and on her cheeks right below her eyes. Her brown hair split into four parts that stuck out on the sides of her head. She wore a white jumpsuit that extended down to her upper thighs and had electric blue lines coming down the sides. Gold cuffs were on her arms, thighs, shoulders and neck. Her armored boots were gold white and blue.

The EM Wave form of the two enemies put her hand to the sky. A black hole was summoned and it consumed the area surrounding us. The area had turned black. I looked around shocked by what happened. The EM Wave of that girl and EM Wave was gone.

"Crystal! What's going on?" I asked.

"I feared this would happen, but it happened earlier than expected..." She said.

She turned around to me and said, "Geo, that girl is a Star Hunter..."

Already I have to fight a Star Hunter? That's nuts! I'm not ready! I can't be! I've only known about this Star Hunter crap for a month and a half!

"Crystal, I think I'm not ready..." I said ashamed of the truth.

"I know you aren't, Geo." Crystal said. I looked up at her. "I'm not ready either..." I was a little relieved but still shocked.

"Geo..." A voice said. I turned around and there was Stella, looking very serious. "You need to know this information in order to help you." I started to listen up. "That EM Wave with that girl is a indeed a Star Hunter. That is Aquarius. She used to be an FM-ian. Her main attacks are based off of water and air. She is known for lying and tricking people easily. It also seems she was given the power to enter the Unknown too..."

"Wait... I have no idea what you are talking about!" I said, confused.

Stella hit her head in disbelief. "What do you mean 'you have no idea what I'm talking about'?" Wow, what a horrible mimicking of my voice. "You're Mega Man! You should at least know this stuff by now!"

I just let out a sigh. Stella expects way too much of me.

Omega- Xis, who was floating next to me, got angry about this. He said, "The Unknown? What kind of crap is that? I've never heard of it either!"

Stella looked at him in shock. "Huh? You don't know about it either? What is wrong with you too! ARRGGGGGGGGGHH!"

For the next five minutes, Stella was yelling at us. Okay, scratch that, she was screaming at us. She was going on and on about 'Oh, you're Mega Man! You should already know about this! WTF!'

I looked at Crystal during the yelling. The only thing I could think to myself was 'If Stella is like this when she's angry, what is Crystal like?' Then I thought of Crystal with an angry look on her face and the fires of hell surrounded her. I started to sweat when I thought of this.

Crystal seemed to start worrying again after a while. Stella saw this and stopped yelling.

"Crystal..." She said. Stella patted Crystal's head. "Sorry, you know how I get when I'm, well, you know, a little frustrated..." She smiled down at her human companion.

Crystal's lips curved to make a nice happy smile. "I know, Stella. I know." Crystal turned around and continued, "Alright. I'll explain. You won't be able to get a full background on it now because we are in an emergency situation. If everyone hasn't forgotten, this world is called the Unknown. For the best of time, basically it's like we are in a black hole..."

Black hole...Black hole... Where have I heard about that word from... Oh yeah!

"I think I've actually experienced being in here before! Hey, Mega, remember a couple of years ago when we fought Solo?"

Omega- Xis paused for a second to think and said, "You're right, Geo! We have been in this place before! Now I know what it is called!"

Crystal and Stella sweat dropped.

Crystal said,"Uhh... well... I guess that's good news... But I have a question: Did the area change in any way after awhile? Like it changed from black to a park for example."

"I don't think so... The only time I remembered it changed was when I exited it." I replied.

"Then, it seems we aren't on the same page. The Unknown is basically an area of no real purpose, like the darkness in a black hole... Unless you make it have purpose."

"What do you mean by that?" Omega-Xis and I asked in unison.

Crystal said,"This area can be controlled by using a Unknown key. They are hard to find and hard to make. Not that many people and EM Beings have these keys. Even I don't have one. But the Star Hunters got their hands on a couple of them."

Great... Now we are even more at disadvantage...

"So this means that our enemy for today has control over this area... That's great... But I have a question: How is this area controlled?" I said.

"Well..." Crystal said. She turned to Stella, a signal for her EM Partner to continue.

"There isn't any good explanation to your question. The Unknown can be controlled in many different ways. The only ones that I know of is that the area can be changed and inanimate objects can be used. But that's all know.. Everything else is unknown. Hahaha! Get it? 'Unknown' and we are in the Unknown. Hahaha!" Stella laughed merrily.

If she can laugh when we are about to face a Star Guardian, I can't even begin to imagine if she would laugh when we face off with Aquarius.

Hmm... I am definitely not ready to fight this Star Hunter... Is there a way to get out of this?

I turned to Crystal and asked, "Is there any way to get out of here?"

"Yes, you have to defeat the holder of the key, which in this case is Aquarius and her partner."

Great... Now I have to fight Aquarius... C'mon Geo, you've been in situations like this before... How are you going to get out of this one... Wait, I know!

"Crystal, most likely whenever Aquarius decides to reappear, the area will change, right?" I asked.

"Yes..." She replied.

"And most likely, the area will change into an area where Aquarius is of better advantage, right?"

"Yes."

"What will the area most likely change to?"

Crystal started to think aloud, "Well... Aquarius uses Water and Air attacks... So the area might be like a lake or the sky... Maybe even a desert?"

"Okay, thanks-"

Before I could finish my sentence, the area around us changed, just like Crystal said. I looked around. We were now standing on white marble stone. I looked in the center of the area and saw Aquarius, standing on another marble stone. Besides a couple more stones and white Roman- style pillars, the area was basically water. I looked at the sky and there wasn't anything of real interest because it was black like where we were before.

I looked at Crystal and her skin was a little pale. She looked at me and said, "Geo, you shouldn't fight this time."

My eyes widened as the words came out of her mouth.

Without thinking, I spoke, "What do you mean?"

Crystal looked dead into my eyes. Her eyes were ruby.

"Geo, I'm serious. You won't be able to defeat Aquarius. Her partner is-"

"I don't care about that." I replied.

Her eyes opened a little.

"I made a promise to protect you from the Star Hunters, and I'm not a man who likes to break them."

I walked a little ahead of her.

"Omega- Xis, let's go!"

Omega- Xis cracked his knuckles, "Finally! I've been waiting awhile for this!"

I took out my Hunter-VGX and pointed it to the sky.

"Transcode! No. 003. Mega Man! On- Air!"

A light blue light hit me. When it disappeared, I was Mega Man.

I hopped on some stones to get over to a place close enough to attack Aquarius and far enough to avoid attack.

Crystal was still standing there along with Stella.

"Be careful!" Crystal said.

"Course!" Omega-Xis and I said back at her.

I then turned to my target. I used my big, manly voice to say my next statement. "Aquarius! Why are you here?"

"Well, look who it is! It's Mega Man!", Aquarius said in a sinister voice, "Came to play? Or are you going to be a good boy and hand over the girl?"

"You aren't going to take Crystal while I'm here! I will stop you no matter what!"

"Oh really? Just how stupid are you?"

I flinched a little.

"I'm a Star Hunter! My powers are infinite! I can even control the Unknown! You can't stop me! Nobody can!"

Omega- Xis shouted from my arm, "You sound like a narcissist to me!"

Aquarius replied angrily, "Why you little- I guess I will have to fight now..."

Suddenly, her visor flashed white then turned grayish black.

"I'll do everything, Haley. Just make sure you stay down and soon you'll get the retribution you asked for." Aquarius said to herself.

Weird... Who is she talking to? The girl earlier? And what is this about retribution?

Aquarius started to spin around and wind formed around her. She kicked the wind to over where I was.

As the wind came over, she shouted, "Wind Dance!"

"Predation! Barrier 200!"

A yellow barrier appeared around me. The barrier protected me from the incoming wind. When the wind flew past me, the barrier disappeared.

"Geo, get ready! She's gonna do it again!" Omega- Xis said from my arm.

Aquarius started to spin around again and wind formed around her. She kicked the wind towards me.

"Wind Dance!"

"Predation! Wide Sword!"

My arm turned into a red sword. I used the sword to block and slash away the wind.

I jumped up and took out another battle card. "Predation! Radar Missiles!"

Missiles came out of my arm. They hit Aquarius and the stone that she was standing on. I heard her lightly yelp in pain. The area was covered in smoke when I landed on a stone nearby.

"Right on the spot, Geo!" Omega-Xis said.

"Thanks!" I replied.

Suddenly, Aquarius came zooming out of the smoke and kicked me right in the gut. I flew onto a stone a little bit away from where I was. Aquarius landed on the stone where I was before.

"Geo!" Omega- Xis yelled.

"I'm... I'm alright." I said weakly.

I got up slowly and somehow reached my composure. Aquarius smirked sinisterly.

"So... you still got some fight in you?"

"Of course I do!" I yelled. "I won't stop until you are defeated!"

I turned my arm into a gun. "Mega Buster!"

I shot a green bullet at Aquarius. It hit her in the arm.

"Oww!"

My arm changed back to normal. She held her arm in pain. Before she could get a chance to recover, I used a battle card.

"Predation! Gatling!"

My arm turned into a machine gun. I shot at her. She jumped up and dodged the bullets. She landed on the platform she was on at the beginning of the fight.

"Why you little-! Didn't give me a chance to recover!"

"That's the point!" Omega-Xis shouted.

"Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhh! That's it! I'm getting tired of this!"

Aquarius put her hands up in the sky and two gold cups appeared behind her. "River Throw!"

The cups leaned over and shot out water. I jumped up to avoid it. I landed on a platform farther away from her. The cups behind her leaned back up...

"River Throw!"

… And tipped over again and shot out more water. I responded again by jumping away and landing on a different platform.

Aquarius continued to use this attack, each time the water amount getting larger and larger. This jumping and landing sequence went on for another minute before Omega- Xis got bored. Lucky he did. I'm running out of platforms to jump on.

"Is this all you got? Throwing buckets of water at us!" He yelled.

"Oh, this is just the beginning!" Aquarius responded.

She moved her hands together and the cups behind her combined into form a huge gold bucket.

"And this is the end!" Aquarius shouted. "I hope you like swimming with the fishs!"

She swung her arms forward an down and the bucket turned over. A tidal wave came over us. "Water Bearer's Revenge!"

I tried to get out of the way but it was already too late. The wave crashed into me, pushing me down into the water. I can't swim when I am Mega Man so basically I'm drowning right now.

After a good moment of pure silence, I could faintly hear a voice calling my name. I began to sink down in the seemingly bottomless water when I was pulled out by something. When I ended up back on the surface, I realized Stella was the one that pulled me out.

"Stella... Thanks!" I said.

"Any time!" She replied.

She turned around. Crystal was there in the edge of the platform we were all on. She started to move forward as if she was going aimlessly walk off the platform. I was going to get up and grab her but Stella stopped me.

"Stella, why?" I asked.

She replied, "Crystal can handle this one on her own. Trust me."

"But how? She isn't in a EM Wave-"

"Geo, trust me. She can handle it on her own."

Crystal's forehead started to glow red. She stepped on the water's surface and it froze.

"Wah-" I said in shock.

Crystal started to walk across the water, with each step all of the water surrounded her freezing.

"That's why she told you to wait. In this situation, she's at advantage since she can wield ice on her own. I remember Crystal telling you that..."

Oh yeah! That's right! She did tell me that! I totally forgot. I sure do feel like a idiot in this situation! But I thought she meant she can wield ice in her EM Wave form...

Crystal continued to walk across the ice. Aquarius smirked and her hands on her hips as if expecting this was going to happen and was right.

"Yes. I do remember my superior telling me that the last one can use ice. Well, isn't this a problem... But I can still use my water to drown you!"

She used wind to pull up some water and she flung it at Crystal. Crystal put up her arm in the direction of the water and the water froze. The ice fell onto the rest made by Crystal's feet. Aquarius was shocked by this.

Crystal put the same hand in front of her, facing Aquarius. Suddenly, Aquarius was encased in ice, except for her head and neck.

"Huh?" Aquarius looked shocked, startled, maybe even scared, as she saw her predicament.

"Aquarius, Let go of that girl now." Crystal commanded.

Crystal finally reached the platform where Aquarius was. Stella tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up at her. She jerked her head as if she was signaling to go over to them. I just nodded and did was she indirectly said.

"W-What? Why should I?"

"Because it's over." Crystal said, "Indeed, you're strong but water can never beat ice."

Crystal touched Aquarius' face. "Calming Presence."

Stella and I were now at the platform.

Aquarius's voice droned. "You won't be able to defeat me! I- I... I will capture you... Then superior will be proud of me..."

Crystal waited a second before she responded. "Hello?"

"Huh? Who are you?" Aquarius asked in a high pitched voice.

Whatever Crystal did seemed to switch Aquarius out to someone else. The voice sounded slightly like the girl from earlier. And how does Crystal know the girl's name? Does she know her?

"Wait! You're the Star Guardian! I- I have to capture you! Uh- Uh!"

This new Aquarius tried to move but she realized that she was encased in ice.

"What the- How did-"

Crystal said, "Haley, you have to listen to me. Aquarius isn't who you think she is."

Haley?... That's the girl's name? Does Crystal know this girl before or after the incident at the mall?

Haley said, "What do you mean?"

"Aquarius is using you, Haley. She doesn't have any intentions of helping you either."

"T- That's not true!"

"Everything I tell you is the truth. She's only using you in order to fulfill her mission of retrieving me."

"No! You're lying..."

"I'm not. I wouldn't lie to you. She's not going to help you."

"Yes, she is! You have no idea what she promised to help me with!"

"Then... what is it?"

Haley looked away. She mumbled something.

"Huh?"

"Revenge." Haley said more firmly and audible. "I want to have revenge on my stepmother."

"Why?"

"Because... she... she..." She paused. "She killed my father."

OHMYGODWHATTHECRAP?! That's horrible! What could have possibly happened?!

"I... I'll tell you why. If you want to hear that is..."

* * *

My mommy died when I was very little. So for most of my life, it was just me and my Dad. I was okay with it though. My father gave me my mother's share of love as well. He was so kind and peaceful...

_A four year old version of Haley sat in a room with her father. The two were seated next to each other at easels. Their subjects were a bowl of oranges._

_Haley watched her father work and tried to repeat it on her canvas. It didn't work out too well in the end. Haley's was just a bunch of orange circles messily colored in while her father's was a masterpiece._

_"Daddy, I'm done!" She said._

_"I'm done as well." He said. "Let Daddy see what you did."_

_Haley's father got up from his seat, picked up Haley, sat down in her seat, and place his daughter in his lap. He looked at the drawing for a moment then smiled. He looked at Haley again._

_"I think this is wonderful, Haley."_

_"Really, Daddy?!"_

_"Yes. It is." He said. "In fact, let's mount it."_

_Haley looked so shocked and excited. "Really, Daddy?!"_

_"Yes. C'mon, you get to choose the frame."_

_"Yay!"_

_The two got up and, hand in hand, left the room._

My Dad was an painter. Most artists are starving artists. For a long time, we lived that lifestyle- moving whenever we could find rent cheaper, eating crap from the convenience store. I didn't mind that either. As long as I was with him then it was all good. We could homeless or starving but as long as I could spend my Saturdays painting with my father, then life couldn't get any better.

_Haley and her father were now looking at Haley's finished piece as it proudly hung in its place in a hallway._

_"Why did you put it here, Daddy?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"When my classmates have arts and crafts and they show their drawings to their parents, their parents say they are gonna put the pictures on the fridge. Why is not on the fridge?"_

_"Because no one can see it from the fridge."_

_Haley tilted her head a little, curious of what her father meant. "Huh?"_

_"You see, Haley, this is a deep dark secret that you can tell no one!" Her father said it in a ghoulish tone._

_Haley looked so surprised. "Really?!"_

_"Yesssss!"_

_Her father then bent down to Haley's height. He then whispered something in her ear. When the two disconnected, Haley looked shocked._

_"Really?!"_

_"Yes. Most parents think that's all their kids will ever draw."_

_"That's mean!"_

_"I think so too. Most parents want their kids to feel special when they draw. So they put where they think most of the family will see it. But those macaroni art and finger pairings won't improve much in their eyes. They expect their children to not do any better in that category as they grow up."_

_He then looked at Haley._

_"And you see, Haley, I'm not like other parents. I know where everyone will see your artwork. And I can tell you right now you're going to be a excellent artist one day. You are doing things I had to through years and years of boring schooling to learn. And how old are you?"_

_Haley put up four fingers and said, giggling, "Four!"_

_"That's my girl!" He said. "And I want to show the whole world your artwork."_

_Haley's father then bent down to her height again._

_"Imagine we are in a big art gallery. We walk and walk down hallways full of art, right?"_

_"Yep."_

_"And this is a hallway, right?"_

_Haley thought about it for a moment. Then she gave her father a big smile._

_"See? This is our own mini art gallery. Most people go down this hallway. So they will see your painting."_

_"Really?!"_

_"Yes! In fact, how about we hang up your paintings in this hallway!"_

_"Realllly?!"_

_"Yes, reallllllly!" Her father said, mimicking his daughter's voice._

_Haley then giggled and gave her father the biggest hug in the world._

That is, until a patron of the arts found out about him. That guy told his art lover friends about my father, then they told their friends, and their friends told their friends, and the cycle went on and on. Within 2 months, my father went from being just an average painter in a small town to one of the most famous artists in the world. Every extremely rich person had to have at least one painting from George Artisan. It was George Artisan or it was not, like some kind of name brand or something. That was how famous he became. I was so happy for him. He deserved it.

His artwork attracted all kinds of things. Good things like a permanent home, a steady flow of money, all while doing what he loved. It also brought along bad things. One of them would be my stepmother.

My father met this foul woman when I was eight. A week after they met, they were married. The next week, the woman and her two daughters moved into our new house.

My stepfamily would turn my life into a living purgatory.

First off, they ripped me apart from my father. Since my father was the only person bringing in money to the house and he had so many commissions, he would have to paint all day in his studio. No more Saturdays with Daddy. Or Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays. I would rarely see my father. When I did though, he would look absolutely miserable.

Second, my stepmother treated me like crap too. I was forced to do all the chores in the house while she just lounged about!

_An approximate ten year old version of Haley was mopping the floor. Her stepmother was watching over her like a hawk as she cleaned. Haley looked depressed as she moved the mop back and forth across the floor._

_When Haley determined she was just about finished, she put the mop back into its bucket. The stepmother walked over to the other side of the room._

_"You missed a spot."_

And if I didn't do them fast enough or I took a break, my stepmother would punish me.

Slap!-_ Haley's stepmother struck Haley across her face._

_"Haley, what did I tell you about not doing your work?! You must do your chores!" The stepmother screeched._

_Haley was on the floor, looking away from her stepmother. She didn't look like she was paying attention. She was starting to get used to these lectures upon lectures about working around the house. She would always end up in this situation. This situation where she felt like a student was getting yelled at by her wicked martinet._

_"Are you even listening?!"_

_The stepmother's eyes caught on the sight of the red book in Haley's lap. She then promptly snatched it from Haley._

_"NO!"_

_The stepmother then began to go through the book. It was a sketchbook, full of drawings Haley had drawn. They were as if a professional had drawn them. Haley was talented. And that thought only made the stepmother grimace._

_"GIVE IT BACK!" Haley screamed._

_The woman just gave a evil smirk to Haley. She walked over to the fireplace in the room and tossed the sketchbook into the fire._

_"NOOOO!"_

_Haley ran over to the fireplace. She sat there, watching her masterpieces be burnt into ash._

_The stepmother said, in a voice as sweet as honey, "Haley, that kind of stuff only distracts you from your chores."_

_The stepmother then kicked Haley to the other side of the fireplace._

_"NOW GET BACK TO WORK!"_

_And with that, the woman left. Haley remained in the room. She hurdled up and began to cry into her knees as she watched her drawings go up into flames._

_Haley continued to cry when two pairs of footsteps clacked into the room. Haley looked up and there were her two stepsisters._

_The left one said, in a horrid baby voice. "Awww, look at ittie bittie baby Haley cry over her stupid book."_

_The right one said, "Yeah! What a big baby! Whining and crying! You stink just like one too!"_

_Haley cried even more. "I'm not a big baby!" She yelled._

_"Yes, you are!" The two said._

_"No I am not!"_

_"Yes you are! Big baby, big baby, big baby, big baby, big baby..."_

_And that chant just echoed and echoed in Haley's fragile mind._

My stepsisters were just as evil as their mother. They destroyed all of my artwork, destroyed my father's artwork, even his ongoing commissions. And even worse, they got away with it. Always the "Haley did it!" even though I would be on the other side of the house. They even bullied me in front of their mother, and you know what, she just let them. Sometimes, I thought I would hear her snicker.

I hate them with every fiber in my being.

_"What?! What do you mean you didn't get any commissions this month?!"_

_Haley's father and stepmother were getting into an argument. Haley was hidden behind a wall so Haley could hear the whole thing go down._

_"This is the third month in the row! We'll go bankrupt if you don't get some people to buy your artwork!"_

_"Elaine, times change!" Haley's father fired back, "I was popular at some point! But now better, young artists are coming out and people are spending their money on them rather than old me."_

_"Yeah. Old, freaking broke you."_

_"What was that?!"_

_"I said, you are an old broke painter who can't even support his own family!"_

_"That's the life of a painter, Elaine!"_

_"That is NOT the life of the painter I married!"_

_The argument was now escalating. Haley was getting scared but she still listened on._

_"I am supposed to be swimming in riches right now and you know, I'm just a step away from being a country bumkin!"_

_"Wah- Elaine, what are you saying?! You sound ridiculous right now!"_

_"I never loved you, George! I loved your money!"_

_Haley gasped but she quickly covered her mouth before the sound came out of her._

_"And you know what, look where I am now! I'm married to a broke artist who thinks that those bills will be paid by themselves-"_

_"Maybe you should get a freaking job then, Elaine! Pay some bills too instead of doing nothing all day!"_

_"AND HIS STUPID UGLY DAUGHTER-!"_

_"DON'T YOU DARE INSULT MY DAUGHTER!"_

_That's when all heck broke loose. Plates started breaking and gasps were echoed. Haley was terrified._

_"YOU CAN INSULT ME, YOU CAN CURSE AT ME, YOU CAN SCREAM AT ME, BUT YOU CANNOT INSULT MY DAUGHTER!"_

_Haley was about to cry. Not from fear she felt but from pure joy. She knew her real father was always there somewhere and she was relieved he finally returned._

_"IF YOU HATE ME SO MUCH, THEN HOW ABOUT YOU JUST LEAVE ME THEN! I WANT YOU AND YOUR DEMENTED CHILDREN OUT OF THIS HOUSE BY NEXT WEEK!"_

_The light in the darkness was found for Haley._

_"FINE THEN!" The stepmother screamed. "I DON'T NEED TO BE WITH YOU! I KNEW THAT IF YOUR FIRST WIFE LEFT YOU THEN I SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN STUPID ENOUGH TO MARRY YOU!"_

_Wait what? Haley was stupefied. Didn't her mother die though? What's going on?_

_The stepmother's shoes began to clink in Haley's direction. Haley sneakily slid to the other side of the corner so her stepmother couldn't see her. It worked. Her stepmother left the kitchen and started to make her way down the hallway._

_But then she stopped. And looked at Haley's painting. Haley's stepsisters had destroyed all of Haley's artwork except for that one painting. It was a painting of some oranges in a bowl. We, no one would know that because it was just a couple of messy circles and scribbles._

_The stepmother then looked furiously at it. She put her hands on the sides of the painting..._

_No..._

_Lifted it off from the wall..._

_No._

_Turned 180 degrees..._

_"No!" Haley screamed._

_And she threw it right on the ground._

_The painting was destroyed. The glass from the frame shattered into a million pieces. The frame and painting was bent. The stepmother then began to stomp on the remains of the canvas in a fury, taking all her anger out on that innocent painting a four year old did._

_Haley then ran over and tried to stop her. "Stop! No!"_

_Haley's father then saw the scene before him and ran over to them. He grabbed his soon to be ex wife and pushed her onto the floor._

_"Daddy!" Haley said._

_She ran up to her father and hugged his side as she began to wail. Haley's father wrapped an arm around her and began to rub her back._

_"It's okay, Haley. It'll be all over soon. This woman is no longer your mother. She won't hurt her anymore."_

What a lie. My father lied to me so much in that sentence. He wasn't going to be okay. It wasn't going to be all over soon. My stepmother is still my mother. And she will always hurt me.

My father died before the end of the week. No one was expecting it. The cause? Poisoning. My father had cooked some poisonous mushrooms into his shepherd's pie and died three hours after eating it.

Even when I was little, I knew my stepmother did it. My father only left the house to buy art supplies so my mother did the grocery shopping. It couldn't possibly be coincidental that she had picked up poisonous mushrooms by accident.

The police was baffled though. It was the perfect crime, some newspapers called it. There was not enough evidence to make any arrests. The police made my father's case a cold case. I know the truth. I am positive who did it and why. I don't understand why they don't just take that wicked witch from me and incarcerate her!

After my father died, I was forced to live with my stepmother and her evil children. And for the next four years, I would be doomed to live in oppression.

And I'm still am.

I'm fourteen years old and I have been diagnosed with depression. Yup, that's right. I have depression. The doctors were going to give me psychological treatment but my step mother declined. She said it was just a phrase and I would get over it.

I hate her so much. She ruined my life! She should face the music for what she did to me and my father!

And that's when Aquarius appeared to me.

_Haley was in her room, painting another masterpiece. It was of a bird trapped in a large cage, desperately trying to get out. There were three cats in the cage with it and were approaching the bird in a prey-stalking way._

_After a while, Haley had to stop because she was crying too much. She wiped and wiped her face but the tears still ran._

_"Haley, you don't have to cry any longer!"_

_Haley was shocked. What was that voice?! Where did it come from?! Haley began to look around frantically._

_"That's right. You can't see me. But you will soon enough."_

_"W-What do you want from me?!"_

_"Not much. But please hear me out."_

_Haley paused for a moment. Maybe she's going nuts after all... But hey, she can listen to the voices in her head talk. "I'm listening."_

_"For the past couple of months I have seen you cry and cry as you painted here in this room. Because of your stepfamily, correct?"_

_"Y-yes?"_

_"What if I could make them go away?"_

_Haley was shocked._

_"What?"_

_"What if I can make them pay up for their crimes against you and your father?"_

_"R-really?"_

_"Yes! All just for one thing!"_

_"One thing?"_

_"Yes! I want you to help me find this girl. She is very important or the group I work for. If you help me, I'll help you!"_

_"Really?"_

_"Yes!"_

_"... Alright. But you have to promise me you'll do this."_

_"Of course, Haley. I would never break a promise."_

* * *

I was even more horrified by Haley's explanation of why she became a Star Hunter. No one should have to go through something like that. Never. Life can be pretty messed up, but I never thought a person who worked for the enemy went through something like this.

"Haley... Revenge isn't the answer." Crystal said. She looked a little shook up. Guess the story even frigthened her.

"Yes it is!" Haley said.

"No, it isn't!"

"YES IT IS!"

Crystal looked taken aback at that. I was too. I would never think such a big voice would come out of the girl.

"You... You wouldn't understand."

"I do understand." Omega-Xis said.

Wait, what? I looked down at my arm where Omega-Xis was. I decided to lift up my arm so that his "eyes" could be face to face with Haley's.

"Wha-" Haley looked pretty startled. Mega really scares people sometimes. "What do you mean?"

"I also wanted revenge. You see, my planet was destroyed by Planet FM. I am one of the very few survivors on the event. I wanted to kill the King of Planet FM for what he did.  
In the end, I realized it wasn't worth it. The King was really paranoid and pretty lonely. Pretty pathetic in my opinion. Also, the King realized that what he did was wrong so he's helping to rebuild the planet.  
Haley, whatever your name is, you don't need to avenge people who are already gone."

Haley looked shocked.

I spoke up. "I kinda lost my father as well, Haley."

Haley looked at me even more surprised.

"When I was seven, my father went into space. However, his space station got lost. He was gone for three whole years. While he was gone, I went into a state of depression as well. I would never go to school because I felt so alone."

I looked dead into Haley's eyes. "But I learned that sitting around cooped up in my room all day and farting around watching the stars wasn't going to help anything. I realized that my father wasn't going to be happy if he saw me like this. Plus, I realized that all the friends I had could help me when I needed them. I'm pretty sure your dad isn't happy watching you do things like this for him, Haley."

Then Haley began to cry. Oh crap, I made a girl cry. Way to go, Geo.

"Ah- I'm sorry!"

"N-No, you're all right! I shouldn't be doing this. My father is already gone and he's probably not happy that I'm a Star Hunter. And you're right that Aquarius is probably tricking me. I'm so naive. Why did I even think that she would help me anyway?"

Haley closed her eyes and untransformed. The world around us changed to black, then back to the park we were in earlier. I was also back to my normal human form.

I looked ahead and Haley held out her Hunter-VGX. Aquarius popped out of it.

Haley looked furious. She said, "Aquarius, our contract is over."

Aquarius said. "What?! But, Haley, why would you listen to total strangers!:

"Because they are telling me the truth! You've lied to me from the start!"

"T- That's not true! Not at all! I do want to help you with your... what's his name... oh yes, father! Yes, I want to help you with getting revenge on your father!"

Haley looked even more angry. "You don't even remember who I wanted to get revenge on!" Haley said, "I should have never trusted you from the started!"

Aquarius grew furious as well.

"You really are even stupider than I thought you were! You're so easy to be tricked! I tricked you, and now you're being tricked by those idiots!" Aquarius said.

"That's it! It's over!" Haley finally said. "I resign as a Star Hunter!"

Aquarius looked shocked. Oh, she wasn't expecting that.

"Haley, you are going to regret your decision!" Aquarius zapped away and flew into the sky above us.

Seems that problem is over for now. Now to help Haley.

Haley turned around and walked toward us.

"Thanks for everything!" She said.

Haley smiled happily at us. She turned around and started to run off.

I yelled, "Wait! Before you go!"

Haley stopped and walked back to us.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, just call me, alright? Let me give you my phone number."

Haley looked pretty startled. "A-Alright."

She pulled out her Hunter-VGX and gave it to me. I quickly went into her contacts and put my name and number in it.

"Let me put my number in yours too!"

I gave her mine. She put in her information and handed it back to me. I took it and put it back in my pocket.

Haley then looked at Crystal. "Oh yeah, can I have yours too?"

"A- Sure!"

Crystal and Haley exchanged their devices. Haley was done quickly while Crystal took a while to put hers in. They then exchanged again.

Haley began to run off but I stopped her again.

"W-Wait! What's your full name anyway?!" I asked.

"It's in your contacts, silly! See you too later!"

And Haley was gone. Curious, I pulled out my Hunter-VGX and scrolled through my contacts. I suddenly saw a new name in there: Haley Artisan. Haley Artisan... Good name, it seems since her dad was a painter.

Then I put my Hunter-VGX in my pocket. Just me and Crystal again.

"I thought you were only able to use ice in your EM Wave Form." I asked, with curiosity.

Crystal asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that floating and ice crap you did a few minutes ago!"

"Oh, well..."

Crystal looked at Stella, who was floating behind her. Stella nodded her head. Crystal turned back around.

She said, "You see... I have 'abilities'"

"Abilities?" I asked dully.

"Yes. Along with gaining the power of being a Star Guardian, each Star Guardian has his or her own set of unique abilities. Usually they have one but I have three. One of them is my main ability: the power to create and control ice. As you saw earlier, I can use it when I'm a human."

Suddenly she continued dully, "That is exactly why I told you to wait!"

I scratched the back of my head. Wow... boy do I feel like an idiot...

"Haha... Sorry?" I said, feeling like a complete idiot.

Crystal sighed, letting go of the angry feelings inside her.

"Whatever... Anyway, I also have the ability to calm others by going through their memories and trying to resolve their discomfort. That's how I seemed to know Haley, but in truth I have never met her before today. Poor girl... Terrible how her life was at this point in her life..."

Crystal started to drift off, becoming worried about the girl we met before.

"I have a question."

"What is it?"

"You said you have three abilities due to your position of being a Star Guardian. You only told me two."

Crystal blushed and looked away from me. "I'm sorta a little embarrassed to tell you the last one..."

Stella abruptly said, "Oh c'mon! You can tell him the last one! It's a really great one too!"

"Stella..." Crystal looked a little embarrassed by Stella's sudden pressure.

"It's alright." I said.

Crystal looked at me.

"It wouldn't be fun for me to be straight up told. I prefer the surprise that comes out in the end. It's a great feeling, in fact! So don't tell me until you use it next time, okay?"

Crystal suddenly smiled and said, "Okay!"

I smiled too. We were both like this until I heard Omega -Xis start to speak.

"Hey, Geo! Aren't you two supposed to be going somewhere?"

"Huh?" Crystal and I said in unison.

Then I remembered: We have school!

"Ah, crap!" I shouted.

I quickly put my Visualizer out of my face and back onto its right place. Crystal and started running as fast as we could to school. I hope we aren't late!

* * *

When we arrived, we were completely stumped. There was a sign posted on the door to the school building. It said that school is closed until further notice due to an unexplained power outage.

"Power Outage?... I ran all the way to school just to find out there's been a power outage?!" I said.

"Seems you feel quite stupid right now, don't cha?" Omega-Xis said.

"I really do, Mega. Well, at least I get a day off."

"What took you guys so long?" I heard someone say.

Crystal and I discovered it was our green- haired friend, Pat, with a soda in hand and earbuds in his ears. He took one out so that he could he what we were saying.

"Pat? What the heck! You could have texted me!" I said a little frustrated.

"Sorry, Geo. It's just that I thought that you two had already saw what happened and went home. Speaking of which, what are you guys doing here now? Shouldn't you guys have been here already?"

Ah crap.

"Uh... well..." Geo, make up an excuse!

"There was a fight!"

Both Pat and I slowly turned to Crystal. We both said, "Huh?"

"Geo and I got caught in this huge fight! Two big gangs against one another! It was like a war scene - tons of blood and gore!" Crystal placed her hand on her heart. "It was so scary! It was too much for a girl like me!"

Pat's face turned red as a tomato. He choked on his soda and started to cough "-cough,cough!- Really? No way! Are you two alright?"

I suddenly joined in, going along with the white lie, "Of course we are! I was there, you know."

I tried to look super cool. If I'm going to lie, then let me look like the boss for once. Pat and Crystal just looked at me until they burst out laughing. I get a gold star for trying it seems. But one of these days! One of these days, I'll be the boss!

Suddenly, a voice shouted, "Hey!"

We all turned and found out the voice was coming from the girl we just met, Haley Artisan. Her beige jacket was now wrapped around her waist. She seemed happier, skipping over to us.

She said, happily, "Hi again!"

"Oh- Hello, Haley!" Crystal said.

Pat asked, "Who's this?"

"I'm Haley Artisan!" She said.

"Well, nice to meet you, Haley. I'm Patrick Sprigs, but everyone calls me Pat."

"Nice to meet you too, Pat!"

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, I have school here!"

SCHOOL HERE?! I thought Haley was like twelve or something. She's pretty short. Plus that babyface doesn't help! What the heck?!

"Really? We do too." Crystal said.

"No way! We should have met before then if you go here? What year are you guys?"

"We're juniors." We all said.

"No way! No wonder we never met..."

"What year are you?" I asked.

"Freshman!"

"Oh yeah! Speaking of which, we never really introduced ourselves to Haley, Geo." Crystal said.

"Really? I thought we did..." I said. "Well, I'm Geo Stelar."

"And I'm Crystal Quartz."

Haley gasped. "No way! You're that new girl everyone is talking about!"

"Huh? People talk about me?" Crystal asked.

"Yeah, I am hearing a lot of things about how you're really hot and nice! I can see that those are true!"

Crystal blushed. Guess she's pretty confused right now.

"But there are tons of rumors too..."

"Rumors?" Pat said.

"Yeah! The most common rumor is that you're dating a junior or senior. Another is that you are really violent. But the one that freaked me out the most was-" Haley said.

Crystal finally shut Haley up by saying, "I think that's enough rumors for one day!"

"Are they true though?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Really?"

"Of course not!"

Why did my eyes wander over to Pat? His smile grew just a bit bigger. I wonder why... Heh, it's none of my business anyway.

"Aww! That stinks. At least now I know not to believe the rumors!"

You shouldn't believe them anyway, darn it!

"Oh yeah! I have a question..." Haley asked, shyly.

"What is it?" Crystal asked.

Haley pulled out a red sketchbook and a pencil out of her bag.

"Can I draw you guys?"

"Huh?" We all said.

"I want to remember meeting you guys. So... I wanted to..."

"Sure!" I said, "That's sounds cool!"

"Yeah! Let's get into an awesome pose!" Pat said.

Pat and I went into weird karate poses.

Crystal looked at us and laughed. "I guess I will too." She said.

Crystal also went into a karate pose. Haley laughed when she saw us. After that, she immediately went to work.

* * *

"Aquarius has failed yet again." A mysterious floating being said, high above the students.

"I'm not surprised. Her recent attempts of catching the last Star Guardian have grown futile. This is wasting more and more of our time." The being said again, but in a deeper and darker tone of voice.

"We have to initiate Plan B, don't we?"

"Yes. We don't have much time before Pleiades overloads."

There was a silence until the deeper voiced one said, "It's time. We should hurry and make contact with him."

"We should."

The being disappeared into the sky above.

* * *

Haley had just finished the picture and boy does my body hurt! We were in the poses for over 50 minutes! This pain in my arms better be worth it.

Pat, Crystal, and I went over to Haley and she showed us her drawing. Ohmygoodnessthatisabsolutely amazing. Did she really draw that?! It looks like a photograph! This should be in a museum, not in her sketchbook!

"It's amazing!" Pat said.

"I agree!" I said. "You're an amazing artist, Haley!"

"Aw shucks, thanks!" Haley said.

Haley put away her sketchbook back into her bag. Then she clipped it back on her back.

"I'm sort of a prodigy."

"A prodigy?" Crystal said. "I can definitely see that."

Haley giggled. "That's my biggest, darkest secret! So don't tell anyone, alright?"

Crystal, Pat, and I agreed.

"Thanks!" Haley said. "I'll see you guys later!"

"Alright, bye Haley!"

And with that, Haley skipped down the street.

"Well, I guess we should be going home!"Pat said.

"Yeah! I'm beat after all of that standing!" I said, stretching. "And besides, this is the time when I take a nap on weekends."

"But it's only 9:30." Crystal said. "Maybe we should do something today. Like hang out?"

"True..." Pat said.

We stood there for a moment, deep in thought. Suddenly, Pat had a great idea.

"I know! Geo, you go home and take a nap!" Pat said. "I'll hang out with Crystal!"

"HUH?!" Crystal exclaimed. She looked pretty darn surprised by Pat's spur of the moment.

"You said you wanted to hang out! So... Let's go!"

Pat grabbed hold of Crystal's hand and started to drag her somewhere.

I stood there in shock for a moment. By the time they were down the street, I had realized that Pat and Crystal are long gone. I actually kinda wanted to go with them... But hey, at least I get my nap! I started to walk home, happy that I get my weekend nap early.

* * *

I am nearby the supermarket in my neighborhood now. Seems there are having a sale or something because they are a lot busier today than usual.

"Hey, Geo!" I heard someone shout from behind.

I turned around and there was Ace. Well, what a pleasant surprise!

"Ace, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I was in the neighborhood!" He said, happily.

I looked at his hands and he had grocery bags in hand. Must've been at the supermarket over there.

"You were sent shopping?" I asked, curiously.

"No, actually, I went for myself!"

"Huh?"

I looked inside the bags and saw they were stuffed to the brim with Mega Snacks. Ace really needs to cut down on those Mega Snacks. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a heart attack right now.

"There was a huge sale at the supermarket! And with those prices, I just had to buy some..."

"Some? That's like probably 500 bars of Mega Snacks!" I said.

Ace laughed as if he didn't hear a thing. I sighed in disbelief.

"So, have you found any clues on Pleiades yet?" I asked. Might as well ask, right?

"Not much." Ace replied. "And thanks for assisting at Spica Mall last week."

"No problem."

We were silent for a couple of minutes. I began to think about Crystal. Should I tell him about her and the Star Guardians? Or should I keep it a secret? I don't really know. He might be confused if I told him.

"Oh yes, Geo. I forgot to ask."

"What is it?"

"Have you ever heard of the Star Hunters?"

My heart skipped a beat. Ah crap, he knows about them! This might not be good!

"No. Why do you ask?" I said.

"I'll explain. The Star Hunters is a group of EM Wave Changers that is looking for these people called Star Guardians. Unfortunately, most of these Star Guardians have been captured. In fact, there is said to be only one not captured yet. The Satella Police have yet to figure out the organization's objectives but we know one thing for certain – the Star Hunters are causing these EM Wave Viruses incidents."

Holy crap, I didn't know that.

"I thought that the incidents were due to Pleiades!"

"That is true. But we learned recently that Pleiades is being controlled by them. It has been summoning viruses under command, not by free will."

No way... Does this mean that... Crystal and Stella have been lying to me?

"Because of this new information we have found, the Satella Police are looking for the last Star Guardian. If we can't find him or her, the whole Universe might be in jeopardy."

Why... Why would they lie to me?...

"We don't have any clue who the Star Guardian is and where he or she is."

They wouldn't have lied to me, right?

"Geo? Geo! Hey, Geo!"

I jolted back to the real world. Ace was still standing there, with a confused look on his face.

"You alright?"

"Ugh... Yeah."

Not really.

What should I do?... I don't even know. Crystal's safety has been in danger ever since I promised to protect her. And besides... I haven't been much of a protector either. She's been the one protecting me.

I... I'm sorry Crystal. This is for the best...

"Ace, I know who the last Star Guardian is."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Project Pleiades

_"I know who the last Star Guardian is"_

It's been a week since I said those words to Ace and revealed Crystal's identity to him. I sorta regret what that I told him. Omega-Xis told me that we were going to need all the help we needed so, in the end, it could be alright. However, I just can't help feel bad - No, horrible - about what I did.

I can remember when I told Crystal and Stella about this. It was after school the next day. Stella was furious. She went off on Omega-Xis and me. I thought she would turn into Godzilla and bite our head off that was how she mad she was at us. Crystal though... I don't understand why. She said she was okay with all of this. I still don't understand why. Why was Crystal so submissive? I could be jeopardizing her life and she just calmly said okay.

Today, Crystal and I are going down to the Satella Police headquarters. Stella is still angry at me so she stayed back at Crystal's place. I thought that it wasn't a good idea. Omega- Xis agreed. Crystal just stood there silently.

Currently, we are on the bus to the headquarters.

"Hey, Geo!" Omega-Xis said from my Hunter-VGX.

I pulled it out so that I could talk with him.

"Yeah?"

"I thought the Satella Police was part of WAZA?"

"It is."

"Then why are we going to the Satella Police Headquarters?"

Then it hit me. I forgot to tell Omega-Xis about it.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you!" I said. "The Satella Police has gotten so big that last year they moved that whole department to the old WAZA building."

"Really?" Omega-Xis seemed pleasantly surprised. "That's a pretty big achievement."

"I agree. I am pretty glad that Ace and all of the people at the Satella Police have been working so hard and so many recruits have been joining."

I then noticed how Crystal hasn't talked at all so far today. She has just been staring out the window.

Man, look what I have done! She looks like she's practically dead! I should have never said anything.

But... It's for her safety. And besides, she did agree that she would go.

But I can't stop thinking that I caused her so much pain. I know she was in pain. I just knew that she was an expert at hiding it.

I just had to know. "Are you alright?"

"Uh- Yes... It's just that I'm... nervous." Crystal said. She sighed.

"There's no need to be! The Satella Police are nice people. Plus, my dad works in the same building as them."

"Really?" Crystal replied. She turned towards me with a newfound curiosity and light in her eyes.

I couldn't help but smile. "Yep!"

Crystal finally smiled when I said that. Yes! Finally, I did something right today!

And not a second later, I noticed that the tall building of the headquarters was approaching fast. I pressed for our stop. Crystal must have noticed because she started to get up.

A second later, the bus made its stop and the two of us got off the bus.

We stepped out to see the huge white building. Out front, there were two signs, one to the left and the other to the right. The left one said Amaken, the company Dad works for. The right one said Satella Police, where we were going.

Omega-Xis must've popped out my Hunter-VGX because I heard him say "Nice building." right next to me.

I wasn't startled for once. I looked at him and said, "I agree. Looks a lot different though from the last time we came here."

"Yeah, it is. Wasn't it bigger?"

"I don't think so. It was smaller I think."

"Heh, let's find out then."

"Hopefully! Or I can just look it up on Zackpedia."

"You really use that short kid's website often, don't you?"

"Yup."

And then Omega-Xis popped back inside my device and I quickly put it away.

My eyes wandered over to Crystal and I couldn't help chuckle at how she looked right now. Crystal looked so fascinated by the building. Her eyes were scrolling the building. Her mouth was slightly agape. She looked like a child seeing his or her first skyscraper.

"Never seen a building this big before?"

"Never." Her eyes never stopped looking at the building.

"This is about the second time I've been here. Omega-Xis and I came here to the building six years ago for a global threat."

"Oh I see." She was still staring.

"You know it's much more interesting inside the building, right?"

Crystal then looked at me with such child-like curiosity and shock. "Really?"

"Yeah." I said, "Let's go inside."

She walked pretty fast into the building. I laughed out loud. Oh, Crystal, you and your childish ways. And into the building I go.

I was ready to see Ace. Crystal, though, was too fond of the many digital signs, modern architecture and many people who passed by her. What was it like where she came from? We have a lot of this stuff in school. I don't understand why she was so fascinated.

We went to the front desk. Crystal took her time to get over there though because she was too busy staring at some of the signs.

"I'm here to see Ace." I said to the Wizard at the front desk.

"I'll call him down now." The Wizard said.

"Geo?"

Dad? I turned around and I saw my father, uniform on and carrying a box full of equipment. Oh man, am I glad to see him!

"Dad!" I said happily.

"Geo!" He replied just as cheerful.

Dad ran over. He quickly put the box down at his side and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug and swung me around like a sack of wheat.

"Oh, my beloved son! You came to see me working hard!" Dad then snuggled my face like it was a soft teddy bear.

Oh I know Omega-Xis was laughing. Rolling on the floor laughing out loud. Crystal giggled herself. My dad's tenacious ways and strength cannot be controlled!

Dad finally noticed Crystal when he heard her laugh. He then gently placed me back on my feet.

"Oh, and who's this?" Dad then gave me a shocked look. "OH NO! Don't tell me that you've moved on from Sonia!"

"Huh?" Crystal said.

"Dad! She's not my girlfriend!" I said, hoping Dad would believe me. I still like Sonia, darn it!

"Umm... Well... We aren't dating at all." Crystal then continued completely dull in voice. "In fact, I have no romantic feelings for your son at all, Mr. Stelar."

Dad and I looked completely dumbfounded by Crystal's sentence. Well, dang. That was blunt.

"Wow... You really aren't doing well with the ladies at all, are you Geo?" Dad said with a disappointed tone of voice.

"Uh- Dad! Th-That's not true! It's just that she's just a friend to me!" I said.

Dad's spirits rose. "Really? Then that's great!"

Dad held out a hand for Crystal to shake.

"I'm Kelvin Stelar. As you can guess, I'm the super proud father of Geo!"

"I'm Crystal Quartz."

Crystal was about to shake my father's hand when, suddenly, everything got quiet. And I mean everything. The whole building had fallen into complete silence when Crystal said her name. What?... What/s going on?

"I take it that you two have arrived." A familiar voice had said.

_Tap, Tap, Tap-_ We all turned to to see Ace and a familiar woman walking over to us.

The woman had silky black hair that extended down to her upper thighs. Her bright orange eyes were like a Sun to her moon-paled skin. She wore a purple and light orange long- sleeved dress that swept over her ankles. On her feet she wore beige heels. Around her neck was a chain that had a shiny light blue pendant.

"Hello, Geo. It's been a while." the woman said.

"Hi, Mrs. Tia!" I said happily.

Yes, you guessed right. This is Tia, Ace's wife. Surprised, aren't you?

As you may know, Tia worked for Dealer, along with her younger brother. As you may also know, Dealer was raided by the Satella Police. When Dealer was raided, Ace was severely injured by an explosion and was put in the hospital for months. Tia did much more than any nurse could for the possibly dying man. Tia loved him. And out of that love, Ace not only lived but he recovered within three months. It was a miracle, doctors called it. Nope, it wasn't. Having someone you love sit by you and be there for you can heal things so much faster.

Then they got married, had Carrie, yada, yada, yada. You already know the love story.

People say that opposites attract. This is completely true in the case of Ace and Tia. Tia has a personality that is light years away from her husband's. While Ace is more energetic and random, Tia is more emotionless and reserved. I have never seen her really express emotions until after she married Ace. It scares me a little how stoic she is, even during emergency situations sometimes. Like now.

"So..." Ace said. "This must be the Star Guardian..."

Tia just looked at Crystal intently.

"Umm... Yes I am." Crystal said. Her voice was cracking a little.

"Follow us. You too, Geo." Ace said.

Ace and Tia started to walk towards the back of the desk. All of us followed. I then got curious when I saw that my Dad, with his box, was also tagging along.

"Dad, why are you following us?" I asked.

Dad said, in a serious tone "You'll find out soon enough."

I shivered.

I always feel nervous whenever Dad is serious. Just like whenever Ace gets serious. This must not be good if all of the extremely happy-go-lucky men in my life are so serious and concentrated. All on the blonde that came with me today.

We all got on the elevator and rode it to the top floor. The ride was silent. The air in the tiny space was so thick. Oh, I just want to go home. This atmosphere is making my knees too weak to go on.

The elevator opened and we stepped and we were now in the humongous command center. I remember coming here when Meteor G was about to hit Earth. Deja vu, huh? In the room were many computers, a couple of Wizards and people working, and a large table with digital screens on it. In front of the large table were a group of people.

One of them was someone I haven't seen in a very long time: Dr. Goodall.

Dr. Goodall is the current head of the Science Department of WAZA. She's one of the smartest people I have ever met and her job definitely suits her seemingly infinite knowledge of the scientific world. I'm forever grateful for all the things she has done for me and my friends and this entire planet.

She looks exactly the same except she was in a wheelchair. I guess old age has finally got to her. But hey, she seems perfectly fine!

I have to admit I'm a bit surprised that she's here. Does this mean the situation with Crystal is that serious?

"Geo, it's been a long time." She said.

"It has been." Dr. Goodall said. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well. Very well, in fact." The doctor's expression changed into a face of alertness, "My, have you grown. You're so tall now. How old are you now? Eighteen?"

"Sixteen."

"Oh, well that's good too. Handsome as always." Dr. Goodall gave me a mischievous smile and a wink.

Oh goodness, why do I always get so embarrassed so easily?

"And Meggers is still with you as well I am guessing." Dr. Goodall said, smiling afterwards.

Omega – Xis said from my Hunter-VGX, "It's good to see you too, Doc."

Dr. Goodall looked over at to my side and looked at Crystal.

"So you are the Star Guardian... What beautiful eyes you have..."

"Oh- Uh... Thank you very much, Dr. Goodall..." Crystal said.

"Come, Come. Let's get this meeting started, shall we!"

A Wizard appeared behind her wheelchair and pushed her over to the table. Everyone else stood around the table.

I noticed that there was a lot of people that I know. I saw Mr. Boreal and his trusty assistant, Mr. Dubius. When I caught their eye, they simply nodded. I also saw Bud and... Sonia?

"Sonia? Bud? What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"We were going to ask you the same thing!" Bud and Sonia said in unison.

"What do you mean?"

"I got a message from the Satella Police, saying I had to come down here for a important meeting. I thought I was in trouble!" Sonia said.

"Boss told me that if I came I could get an extra long lunch break today! Sounds awesome to me!" Bud said.

Sonia and I just looked at each other, both in disbelief of Bud's amor for food.

Bud looked over to my side and finally noticed Crystal was there, standing quietly.

"Crystal! What are you doing here?" Bud asked.

"You are about to find out." Ace said, interrupting our small conversation, "You should take your seats."

Serious as ever I see. Well, I better get serious too. I put on my game face, ready to be dazzled of the actions that the Satella Police are taking to help defend the planet once again.

Everyone was seated and ready to go when Dr. Goodall started.

Dr. Goodall said, "Thank you for coming to our first Project Pleiades meeting today."

"Project Pleiades?" I asked.

"Oh, you don't know what it is?"

"Not at all."

Ace said, "The Satella Police and Amaken have collaborated together to make Project Pleiades, a secret mini organization that is dedicated to stop whatever this new threat on the planet is."

"We want to bring as much support as we possibly can to help prevent the jeopardy of Earth's safety. Again." Dr. Goodall continued.

"What is the threat this time? Another Meteor G?" Sonia asked.

Dr. Goodall turned to Ace, whose was sitting next to her. Ace just nodded his head and did whatever that turn signaled. He walked up to the supercomputer behind him and started typing on its keyboard below its monitor. A image of Pleiades popped up on the viewing screens in the room.

"The threat is actually being caused by this star cluster, Pleiades. You all probably think that is outrageous. How could a star cluster jeopardize earth's safety? Well, we indeed have evidence to prove that this is quite on the contrary." The doctor turned towards Mr. Boreal. "Mr. Boreal?"

Mr. Boreal and Mr. Dubius got up and typed on the computers in front of them. A graph that had really high lines and a close up of the dust cloud in Pleiades popped up on the screens.

Mr. Boreal got up and said, "The researchers at Amaken have concluded that the dust cloud in Pleiades is the cause of all of this. There are extremely high Noise levels coming from it. The Noise levels have somehow caused the formation of powerful EM Wave Viruses. These viruses also seem to be controlled by someone or something... But unfortunately, this is how far we got..."

"It's alright. The fact that you have so much information so far is amazing enough!" I said.

Mr. Boreal smiled.

Mr. Dubius also rose and stated, "We also can conclude that these viruses have unfortunately made it to Earth. So far, every large-scale EM Wave Virus problem we dealt with recently all had Viruses that had similar Noise frequencies with Pleiades' dust cloud."

"Thank you, Boreal and Dubius." Dr. Goodall said.

The two sat down in their seats.

"Now, science can prove many things in the world. However, it seems our biggest clue on how to stop Pleiades is explained in a mythological legend. Stelar?"

My face paled. I thought the doc was talking about me. But it was my father who rose from his seat and went to the front of the room. So this is why he is here...

My father rolled his shoulders back, took a deep breath, and spoke. "During my travels in space as an EM Wave, I discovered many things. One of them is the legend of the Star Network."

"The Star Network?" Bud asked. "What's that? It sounds weird."

Dad gave Bud an irritated look. "If you would have let me finish, I would have explained it."

Oh, why is Bud such a slow learner?! I looked to my left and there was Omega-Xis floating near me. He gave me a smirk. Oh he must be thinking the same thing. I quietly snickered and continued to watch.

So then Dad spent the next hour slowly explaining every single freaking detail about the Star Network and the Star Guardians. Omega-Xis and I didn't listen since we already knew of the legend.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Bud said, seeming to have an epiphany. "That makes perfect sense now!"

Well, dang, that was fast. How long did I black out?

"Yeah! That was a good explanation, Mr. Stelar!" Sonia said.

"Aww, thanks!" Dad said, scratching the back of his head.

"Anyway, let's get back on topic, shall we?" Dr. Goodall said, smiling.

Everyone went back to their early serious mood.

"As I explained, the Star Network needs the seven Star Guardians in order to prevent overloading and probable system crashing." My father said.

"So where are the seven Star Guardians?" Sonia asked, curiosity in her voice.

My father became very quiet. He knew that there was no great way to tell the truth.

"The first six are missing..." That's a lie. "But we do know where the last one is."

"Where?"

"The last Star Guardian is actually here in this room." Dr. Goodall said.

The doctor looked over at Crystal, who was sitting two seats from mine.

Crystal got up as if she hadn't wanted to. She looked like a kicked dog. Crystal took a deep breath and slowly lifted up her bangs, revealing her insignia of the Star Guardian. Half of the room gasped at the sight, the other half didn't. You can guess which half I was in.

"No way!" Sonia and Bud exclaimed.

Dr. Goodall began to speak again, "As you all seem to know, the last of the Star Guardians is Crystal Quartz. Geo has been protecting her for the last couple of weeks."

Bud suddenly had that epiphany look on his face again. "OHHHHHHH! So that's why Geo is always walking her home after school! I thought it was because he liked her or something..."

Sonia's eyes suddenly gleamed with such fire and pure anger that I thought she was possessed by an evil demon. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Ahhhhhhhhh crap! Bud, you put me in the doghouse! What do I do?! What do I do?!

"I-I-I swear I don't like Crystal!"

All of the adults in the room except for Tia burst out laughing. I'm confused. All of the teens in the room were just as confused.

"Boy, is _he_ a lady's man!" Ace teased.

The adults were roaring from laughter at this point.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

Dr. Goodall said, chuckling a little, "Man has always liked love. And out of everything, this is what brings the most happiness and the most problems in one's life. Well, according to my soaps anyway."

I have no idea what Doc's talking about. It better not be about me though.

When the adults stopped laughing, Mr. Boreal asked, "Has there been any incidents where your protection was needed?"

"Yes. A Star Hunter attacked us."

Bud raised her hand, as though he was in a classroom and Dr. Goodall was her teacher.

Dr. Goodall asked, "What is it, Mr. Bison?"

"Who are the Star Hunters?" He asked, wondering about who they were.

I looked over at Crystal in the corner of my eye. Her whole body was shivering. What the? Is she okay? I have never seen her like this.

Dr. Goodall looked at Ace, signaling for him to answer.

"The Star Hunters are a group of people who are trying to find and capture the Star Guardians. Their objectives are unknown at this point. However, we can conclude that the disappearances of the other six Star Guardians are in direct connection with the Star Hunters."

"Oh yes... I remember them..." Tia said aloud.

Tia got up from her seat and walked over to where her husband was.

"I remember back when Dealer was just beginning. My boss asked for the Star Hunters' assistance in order to get our goals accomplished. The Star Hunters, though, declined. They said our organization was just a waste of space and was going to fall to the humans one day. Of course, as we all know, Dealer was later raided by the Satella Police. Ironic, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Dr. Goodall said.

"Also, at that time, they were still searching for the last Star Guardian."

I and everyone else in the room was utterly shocked. I don't think a lot of them understood though like how me and Crystal do. All I could think as I slowly looked at Crystal's shaking form was one question: How long has Crystal been running from the Star Hunters?

Dr. Goodall concluded for us one thing. "The Star Hunters are not only very dangerous but they are also very dedicated to their work. Who knows how long they've been searching for Miss Quartz?"

Everyone was looking at Crystal at this point. Crystal must've not liked the newfound attention on her because now she was shaking like a person out in zero degree weather with only a bathing suit on. There are so many words to describe how the mysterious blonde was feeling right now. Mortified, terrified, horrified. All of those negative "-ified" words in the dictionary.

Ace turned to me and asked, "You said you were attacked by a Star Hunter earlier, right?"

"Yes. Crystal and I beat it however." I said.

"That's good." Dr. Goodall said, "But I can't still shake this feeling that the fight didn't go all too well..."

It's true, we somehow won the fight against Aquarius. Well, I shouldn't be using "we". I got my butt seriously kicked. Crystal's the one that beat Aquarius. I think it might be a good idea to tell everyone this.

"It's true about that. The outcome would have been different if... well... Crystal didn't come in and use her powers."

"So, this Star Hunter was that strong?" Dr. Goodall asked. She seemed a bit surprised.

"Yeah."

"I knew that would happen..."

"Huh?"

Omega-Xis and I looked at each other.

Dr. Goodall looked at me seriously. "According to our records, you haven't pulsed in for six whole years. Even though you are Mega Man, you aren't at your game at this point. It may be awhile until you and Omega-Xis are back to both of your standards."

"I know that." I said, "That's why I came for your help."

"And I'm glad you did. But the truth is that, Geo, this is way out of your league right now."

What?

I sat up from my chair. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Ace abruptly said, "Geo, it's the truth! You aren't ready to handle this huge of a problem yet!"

"I think we are perfectly capable of handling this-" Omega-Xis said.

"... I know that..."

Everyone looked shocked, even Mega stopped talking.

"I know that I'm not ready. I thought that I wouldn't have to do this again, so me and Mega slacked off. And when Crystal came, I can admit I got a little cocky. 'I saved the world three times already! This time it'll be a breeze!'

Over time it hit me- Crystal was literally placing her life in her hands everyday I was with her. And then I felt this weight later on. This unbearable weight of having to eight million lives in your hands as well.

My hands are heavy. My heart is heavy. I am just tired. plain tired of having to save people.

It's true. I want to be a normal teenager! I don't want to wake up and worry about EM Wave Viruses attacking. I don't want to have 'saving the world' and 'virus busting' as a norm. What I really want is one day where I can not worry for the future and just focus on my regular life.

But there is one final truth: My wish will never come true. You know why? 'Cause I'm Mega Man! I'm the blue hero, according to the news. My purpose is to defend humanity! If someone tells me that Earth might be in danger, well, Omega-Xis and I are on it. Because we are just destined for that kind of stuff.

I chose to protect Crystal because, you know what, that's what I'm supposed to do! I'm Mega Man, darn it! If someone is in distress, I have to and will do anything within my power to assist.

Sure, I'm not ready to take down the Star Hunters. But I can tell you that no one in this room is either! And that's why I'm going to work as hard as I can. I want Crystal- no, every single thing that moves on this planet- to be safe at least from threats I can handle.

Anything is possible if you dive head first into something! And for many times in my life, that anything was something good!"

I hadn't realized how much I talked until I noticed how out of breath I was.

Someone clapped. Then another. And then the whole room was in applause. Wha... What did I say that made them so happy? I looked over at Omega-Xis and he gave me a thumbs up with a "good job, Geo". I am so confused.

When the clapping died, Dr. Goodall smiled. "Geo, you're so lucky to have so much youth in you. The youth make stupid mistakes... but also the old."

Dr. Goodall looked up at me from her wheelchair. "Fine, I'll let you continue fighting the Star Hunters."

Omega-Xis and I looked so pumped.

"But... "

She looked at Crystal slightly, then looked at Ace. Another silent signal went off and Ace nodded his head at the doctor. Ace then came over to me.

"Geo, I'm sorry but Crystal will have to be under Satella Police protection."

"What do you mean?" I asked, curious of his answer.

For a split second, my eyes wandered over to Crystal. But even then I could see that Crystal was now hyperventilating quietly in her seat. Why was no one noticing her? Why was no one helping her? She looked like she was about to die!

"We have to keep Crystal here until her safety is ensured. This means that you or anyone else will be able to see her for a long time."

What the-

"How long is 'long'?" I said a tad too loudly than I wanted.

"Who knows. Days, weeks, months. Even years."

That's when Crystal finally broke. Crystal, still shaking, slowly got out of her seat and just as slowly walked away from her chair. Then she missed her footing once. And she rocked like a boat for a second. And then -thud!- she sunk down to the floor.

Everyone was in utter shock. Bud, Sonia, and I were the first to run over to where she was.

Crystal looked peacefully asleep. But I know right now, and for a long time, she won't have any peace.

Tia walked over there and told us to back away from her. She quickly looked at Crystal and then calmly shouted for someone to call an ambulance.

Oh goodness, what is going on?

As all heck broke out as everyone tried to figure out what happened to Crystal, I heard a soft voice. Crystal's voice. She mumbled one thing. Pat. But that one thing made my head go into a bedlam. All of these thoughts filled my head. And they all pointed at my best friend, Patrick Sprigs. What? Why? How? All of those wonderful questions just filled my head.

As chaos filled my surroundings and my adolescent mind, all I could think was that I really need a break from this craziness.

* * *

On top of a streetlight nearby the Satella Police-Amaken Headquarters stood a tall black figure shaped like a man. Next to it was a ghost-like creature next to it. The two were looking at the building.

"We finally found her..." The man said.

"Yes, that's the last Star Guardian. We must retrieve her quickly in order to make up for Aquarius's mistakes." The ghost said as well.

"Yeah... You're still completing that promise, right?"

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I, Ryan?"

"Okay, if you say so. Besides, it will be fun to fight the legendary Mega Man. It'll get me closer and closer to fulfilling my dream." The man looked go the sky. "Layla, wait for me!"

The two got off the streetlight and disappeared into the crowd of people that walked the streets.

* * *

After Crystal fainted, no one was sure what was wrong with her. So, just in case, we rushed her to the hospital. When she was examined, the doctor said she was fine. That she had simply fainted. The cause seems to not to be harmful either. She can go home when she wakes up. Yada, yada.

So now I'm waiting in Crystal's room, patiently waiting for her to wake up, along with everyone else. At this point, I'm pretty bored. I've been sitting here for an hour already.

My Hunter-VGX suddenly vibrated. I took it out of my pocket and saw Omega- Xis was looking directly at me.

"Hold up." I said.

I walked to an area where no security cameras and people were.

"What's up?" I finally said as I was flipping on my Visualizer.

Omega-Xis came out of my Hunter-VGX.

"I'm confused." He said. "What happened to Crystal?"

"She fainted."

"Fainted? What's that again?"

"Well... It's kinda hard to explain... Fainting is like when someone falls asleep out of nowhere."

"Like how you fall asleep in that book reading class?"

"Ah- That's not fainting. That's called getting bored in Ms. Literatura's English class."

"Then what's the difference?"

"Fainting is involuntary. For example, remember when I broke my wrist two years ago?"

"Yeah."

"And remember how I just saw my wrist and fell over?"

"Yeah."

"That's fainting."

"Oh I see. So pain causes it?"

"Not just pain. Fainting is a symptom of all kinds of things. Pain, shock, low iron count. You name it."

"Then what did Crystal faint from? She didn't seem to be in pain."

"According to the doctor, it was most likely stress or shock."

"Oh I see..."

Omega-Xis looked like he wanted to ask me something else.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh- I'm fine. I'm just thinking..."

"About?..."

"Geo, can you answer me something?"

That was pretty out of the blue so I was bit taken aback at that. "S-Sure. What is your question?"

"Why are humans so fragile?"

"What do you mean?"

"I am just confused. Every single thing can break a human so fast. Pain, shock, low iron count. All that crap you mentioned."

"Well, Omega-Xis, you kinda stumped me there." I shrugged. "That's a question that doesn't have an exact answer. All I can say is that humans are just made that way."

Omega-Xis sighed. "Crystal is a strong human. Well, I thought she was. And just when I was starting to kinda admire her."

I looked at Omega- Xis a little confused and shocked all at the same time. How?... When?... I'm just so shocked. Omega-Xis admired Crystal at some point?! Well.. I can see why. She is kind of a ruthless fighter, resorting to kicks and punches when she needs to. And Omega-Xis does likes fighting.

"Well, we can figure that the Star Hunters would scare her. We have no idea about Crystal's past life or anything. I'm actually surprised that she held through for so long. But it is a little shocking that she actually fainted."

"Yeah..." Omega–Xis said.

Omega-Xis went back into my Hunter-VGX and I walked back to the room. The people in the room were now all crowded around the bed Crystal was on. Bud must've heard me come in because he turned to me.

"Geo!" Bud said loudly, "Crystal's waking up!"

I immediately ran over to Crystal's bed. When I got there, she was starting to regain her composure and slowly lifted herself up. She looked around, as if she was wondering where she was.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"You're in the hospital." Dr. Goodall said. "You fainted earlier."

"I did? Oh- I'm so sorry..." Crystal said. She looked pretty guilty.

"It's alright. Fainting is just a natural thing the body does when you won't listen to it."

"Anyway... Should we continue discussing plans or should we reschedule?" Ace said.

"Wait a moment." Tia said.

Everyone looked at her. She walked over to Crystal's bed.

She continued, "I want to talk with Crystal first before we continue."

"Oh okay..." Ace said.

We all stood there for about a minute until Tia command, "That means you all get out **NOW**."

We all jumped up and left the room to leave the two alone. I know that when Tia says a command, you do it. Ace had to learn that lesson many times before he got it in his head.

We decided to wait in the waiting room for them to finish. When we got there, Ace said he was going to go to the cafeteria.

"Why?" I asked.

"To get Mega Snacks of course!" Ace said, happily.

Everyone just looked at him funny and Ace went off to get his beloved snacks.

"Wait for me, Boss!" Bud said, going after him.

We gave Bud the same funny looks as he ran off after Ace.

Dr. Goodall said, "I think it would be a great time for a lunch break anyway, right?"

Everyone agreed and they all went to the cafeteria to go eat. All that was left was me and my father in the waiting room. The room was now relatively quiet now that everyone was gone. Just me, Dad, and that uncomfortable silence I just hate.

"That was quite the speech you said earlier, Geo."

I looked up at him, a little shocked by what he said. My father was looking at a sign.

"You really know how to make your father proud."

I looked away from him. "Thanks..."

"But, you know, Dr. Goodall is kind of right and kind of wrong."

I looked back at my father. We stood there for a while.

"Dad... What do you mean?" I asked, curiously.

"Well... She is right about you not being ready to fight." Dad said.

I was about to say something when Dad finally faced me. "But she's wrong about deciding Crystal's fate like that."

I just realized it. I never really thought of that. Dr. Goodall can't do something like that. Why am I just realizing this now?

"I'll let you in on a little secret about the doctor." Dad said.

He signaled for me to lean in, as if he was going to tell me a secret.

He whispered, "Dr. Goodall used to be in the same shoes as Crystal. Well, sorta."

Dad looked away from me as he said what he had to say.

"When she was a child, the doc was an overachiever. And put a line under overachiever. At age ten, she graduated from Hale University as the valedictorian. Most of her life, though, she wasn't really able to do anything she wanted.

In truth, her childhood was taken away due to her studies. Her parents did everything for her and never really cared about her personal goals. All it was for her was work, work, work.

As smart and old as she is, Dr. Goodall still can't understand what a real childhood is like because she never really had one."

I pulled away a little as I was surprised by what my father told me.

"Anyway, she's pretty stubborn. She probably won't listen to you. Being your dad, I'll try to do something-"

"Promise?"

Dad looked at me a little confused by my statement. Then he put his hand in my hair and started to mess it up.

"Why, of course! A promise is a promise!"

"Dad... Stop! You're messing up my hair!"

And that's how another Father and Son bonding moment ended. Dad just loves to mess with my hair whenever we talk like this...

Speaking of talk, I wonder how Crystal and Tia are doing.

* * *

"Mrs. Tia, what is it you want to talk about?" I asked.

I still feel a little dizzy and sleepy from waking up. I could hardly remember how we ended up like this anyway. Mrs. Tia standing next to my bed, her arms crossed with that regular cross look on her face. I sat there in the bed, wondering what she wanted. I mean... She did kick everyone out of the room just so we could talk. It has to be something important.

"You're scared, aren't you?" Tia asked.

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"You're scared of the Star Hunters."

I felt a shiver go down my spine and the blood go away from my skin.

I can't allow this. I can't allow anyone to know the truth.

"What do you mean?" I said, trying to laugh it off.

"Crystal, don't lie to me." Tia said, "You fainted earlier because of your fear."

It's... too late...

"Don't be deceived. I am a woman of observation. I was watching you the whole time."

I became more surprised by what Mrs. Tia said. She was watching me the whole time? I should have known! Ugh, all those years of training are really going down the drain the more and more I live in this country.

"You were nervous from the very beginning. It got worse and worse as the meeting went through. You finally broke when my husband said that you were to be put on watch and fainted."

My finger twitched.

I forced a smile across my face. "It- It's a silly fear really. It's like being afraid of the dark y'know."

"Being afraid of people that are hunting you down is not a silly fear."

My pulse stopped.

"There's nothing silly about this, Crystal. And don't you ever think otherwise."

I just looked at my lap and sat there. I seemed calm on the outside. But you can only see 10% of an iceberg, right? I felt empty. Like a hollow shell. A part of my life was ripped from my body and replaced with the truth. All that running... That pain... That loneliness... Wasn't silly. It was fear. A pure fear that I knew was there but denied.

I'm so naive, aren't I?

I felt a soft warmth on my hand. "I understand how you feel."

I looked up. My eyes burned and my face felt sticky. When did Tia seat herself on the bed and touch my hand? And especially when did I start crying?

"You aren't the only one who is scared Crystal."

Wha-?

"Everyone is frightened by the Star Hunters and their power. Geo, Ace. Even myself."

What? Geo's scared. Tia's scared. Is everyone scared like me? But... Why?...

I am such an idiot.

Tia looked away for a moment then looked back at me.

"We won't let anyone hurt you, Crystal. Not those Star Hunters. Not anyone." Tia said.

She smiled faintly at me then quickly went back to her usual emotionless visage.

"Crystal, look. I won't let anyone treat you different."

"I... I don't understand."

"You will soon enough."

* * *

We were finally let back into the hospital room. Everything looked the same as before: Crystal was in bed and Mrs. Tia was standing up near her. When I came closer, I noticed Crystal's eyes were slightly red, as if she was crying earlier. I ignored this, but I kept that observation in the back of my head. Dr. Goodall came in, being wheeled in my her Wizard.

"It seems that you two are done talking. Now let's continue our discussion. Where were we?" Dr. Goodall said, looking up at Ace.

Ace, whose pockets were stuffed full of Mega Snacks, said, "We were about to talk about our plans for Crystal's protect-"

"Hold your horses, Arthur!" Dad and Mrs. Tia said in unison.

I looked a little shocked that my father and Mrs. Tia actually did that. In fact, the two were a little surprised as well.

My father said, "Arthur, what you are going to do is very wrong!"

"Huh? What do you mean? Isn't it the best thing we could do?"

Mrs. Tia said, "No, honey, not at all."

"Why?" Ace asked, curious. "I see that there is no reason to object."

"Have you considered Crystal's feelings?" Tia said, dully.

Ace looked a little surprised.

"Crystal's not an alien, Arthur. She's a regular human being just like us." Tia continued.

"But I- I'm not treating her like an-"

"Arthur, what if a random stranger told you that he was going to be putting Carrie under protection in a weird facility in order to 'protect' her from danger?"

Ace looked shell shocked. Out of everything in the world, Ace loves his daughter Carrie from the bottom of his heart. For Dad to mention her in his case, he knew that it would hit Ace hard. Ace put his head down.

"You wouldn't care about the danger! You wouldn't care about the fact that the world's fate might be in your daughter's hands! You would only care about the fact that some strange people are separating her from her friends, family, and especially you! Am I right or am I wrong?" Dad said, with power.

Dad... He kept his promise to me... Thanks a lot!

Ace quickly responded, "Of course not! I- I would want her to be at home with me and Tia and Jack!"

Dad calmed down a little and said, "That's my point. I want you to think of Crystal as Carrie in this situation. Let her stay home with you and-"

"Kelvin, you're going in the wrong direction." Tia said.

Dad quickly turned and said in a childish way, "Huh? You didn't let me finish, Tia!"

"And I don't care."

Dad was about to say something but Tia cut him off. "And please refrain from mentioning my daughter in this, Kelvin."

Well, oh dang, Dad. You lost your fight. Heh, at least he kept his promise to me.

"I think that Crystal should decide her future. I can't comprehend why Crystal is so passive about her future being chosen for her. But we're a free society. And Crystal's well old enough to make her own decisions!" Tia said.

Tia then walked over to Crystal and softly placed her hand on Crystal's shoulder. Crystal was startled by Tia's touch.

"Crystal, what is your choice? What do you want to do?"

Crystal looked like she didn't really think of that. What did she want? She thought for who knows how long until she finally stated what she wanted to say but even then she couldn't speak up. But she took a deep breath and it seemed to help her speak.

"I-I... I don't know... I never really thought about this. I've been running from the Star Hunters for so long that I never really thought of the future.

Truthfully, I just want to be free from this endless cycle of running away. But that's a wish I can't have right now.

But everytime I go to school with everyone, everytime I walk home with Pat and Geo, everytime I hang out on the weekend with my friends, even when I fought those viruses with Geo and Sonia. It's pure bliss to me.

I... I don't want anything to change in my life. Things will change, I know. But the small things... I want to be able to experience them."

"Well then, I guess that's what we will do." Dr. Goodall abruptly said.

Everyone looked at Dr. Goodall in shock. Holy crap, she listened to them!

"Geo! Sonia! Bud!" She said with a commanding voice.

That scared the crap out of me. I never knew the doc's voice could get so loud. Sonia, Bud, and I immediately got in a soldier-like saluting pose. Guess the two were also scared.

"I want you all to protect Crystal with all the power your bones can give! Understand?!"

"Yes ma'am!" We all said in unison.

"Kelvin, Aaron, and Tom!"

My father, Mr. Boreal, and Mr. Dubius stood at attention.

"I want you all and your team to continue your research on Pleiades! We must find out about the absolute worst scenarios with Pleiades as soon as possible!"

"Yes ma'am!" The three said.

"Arthur and Tia!"

Arthur stood at attention while Tia just looked at Dr. Goodall.

"You will work with the Satella Police to investigate the Star Hunters. Your objective is to find their purpose of going after the Star Guardians and what has happened to the others!"

Dr. Goodall then faced all of the Satella Police commandos and other important people in the room with us.

"Everyone else! Please give your support whenever needed."

"Of course, Doctor Goodall!" All of the others shouted.

"Thank you, Dr. Goodall!" Crystal said, out of the blue. She looked like she was on the urge of tears. "Thank you so much!"

"Your welcome, my dear. Now you should go put on your clothes and get ready to go home, ok?"

"Yes, Dr. Goodall." Crystal said. She smiled that beautiful, natural smile she always seems to hide.

"Meeting adjoined. You are dismissed for today. We will have meetings like this once a month in order to check up on things. I will email you all when the next meeting is, so keep your schedules free, alright?"

"Alright!" Everyone said.

"I hope all of you have a good day."

"You too!"

And we all started to leave.

* * *

Wow, we must've been in the hospital for a while. By the time we all made it to my side of town, the Sun was already starting to go down.

Crystal, Bud, Sonia, Dad, and I were all walking home. We talked about a lot of junk along the way home. Nothing serious really. I think the best word to describe the debate Bud and Sonia got into about the best barbecued meat was "random".

Anywho, we are now in front of Crystal's apartment complex. I have to admit it isn't that bad of an apartment according to the building. However, it seems as though Crystal doesn't have a job. I was a bit curious as to how a girl practically living on her own can afford such a place.

"So this is where you live!" Bud and Dad said.

Sonia then gasped in surprise. She smiled big at Crystal. "I am staying in an apartment down the block! So this means I can visit you and stuff everyday if I could!"

Crystal gasped as well. The two suddenly grabbed hands and started jumping up and down, making a high-pitched bird call. Bud and I were confused.

Dad leaned into our ears and whispered, "It's a female thing."

"Ohhhhh! That's make perfect sense!"

When the two dispersed, I had a sudden idea.

I walked over to Sonia and asked, "Hey, can I walk you home?"

"Uh- Sure!" Sonia said. She seemed pleasantly surprised about the idea.

We started to walk away, and I slightly turned. I saw Dad looking at me with pure happiness in his eyes. He gave me a thumbs up and a wink. Bud was confused as always. Dad and Bud began to walk away as well.

Today ended great for everyone! However, I feel that something is going to spoil this for me as always. I looked at my Hunter-VGX and from Omega-Xis's expression, I think he felt the same way.


	8. Chapter 7

Hi my faithful readers. How are you? My internet went out for a month and a half. (Times are hard people -_-) So now that's its finally back on, I give you a new chapter. As always, please comment and review. I'm a noob at this total fanfic thing and I want to know how I can improve. C: Thank you. Now read the disclaimer!

Mega Man Star Force and its affiliated characters belong to Capcom, not me. This fan story and all of its original characters do belong to Sam2daXD (me).

ENJOY!

Chapter 7 – The Power of Achilles

It's now the joyous month of May here in Echo Ridge. Nothing unusual has happened so far either. Everyone at school has the obvious 'oh, why won't summer come now!' vibe. Even my own father is in the 'summer, come now!' spirit as well. Unfortunately,though, it's May. Summer is coming soon, but not soon enough!

Regarding the Star Hunters issue, there hasn't been any attacks as well. It was like the Star Hunters had disappeared off the face of the Earth. But I still can't get this feeling of uneasiness out of my head. Omega- Xis thinks that maybe this is a battle strategy that they use to confuse the enemy. I personally think that they are only doing this just to worry the heck out of me. For now, though, I am more worried about my studies and school life rather than the Star Hunters!

Today is May 13th , signifying exactly one month of school left. On this day, my friends and I are going to hang out after school. Plus, its a Friday, meaning I can relax afterwards. Today, so far is going so well! What could possibly happen to ruin such a great day.

"Geo! Geo!" Haley yelled, running into the classroom.

It was almost time for morning homeroom when Haley ran into the room, screaming for me. I immediately got up out of my chair, wondering what was wrong. Pat, Bud, and Zach were next to me, wondering the same thing as well. Crystal fortunately wasn't here yet. Halfway on our walk to school, Crystal said she forgot her lunch, so she went back to get it.

"What's wrong? And it better not be another rumor about me being scared of the dark."

"No, I just heard something bad! VERY bad!"

"What is it?" Pat said, wondering as well.

"Ryan Achils has challenged you to a fight!"

"WHAT? You- You- You don't mean 'Achilles' Ryan Achils, do you?" I said scared.

"Yes! I mean _that_ Ryan Achils!" Haley said, worried.

Ryan Achils is a senior here at school. He's really scary and strong. He also has a very quick temper. They don't call him "Achilles" for nothing. He is said to be the strongest fighter in the school. He has started and ended every fight he has ever been in. I also hear that the fights end within minutes. There is also a legend that his eyes turn blood red if you anger him. He's never got in trouble with the teachers, though. In fact, he has never been caught once by a teacher. It's either the teachers fear him or Ryan is sneaky. The true question now is: What has he challenged me, a regular junior, to a fight? I avoid him on purpose for this exact reason. But how could this have happened?

"W-W-Why me?" I asked.

"I don't know yet. But I really really hope that isn't true! I don't want to see you get hurt by that big... fat... dummy..." Haley said, until she saw a shadow start to come behind her.

We all turned around and saw him- Ryan Achils- right behind Haley. He had black spiky hair and maroon eyes. He had a scar on his right cheek. He wore a black tank top, red leather jacket with its sleeves rolled half way up, black pants, red and black biker boots, and black fingerless gloves. Haley, once realizing who was just a breath and half away from her, ran out of the room, screaming for her dear life. Bud and Zach became extremely scared. Zach ran behind the teacher's desk, hoping for some shelter. Bud couldn't find anywhere to run, so he stood behind me, shivering like a dog with its tail between its legs. Pat, though, wasn't scared. He looked more angry than scared of anything. If you are wondering what I'm doing, I would rather be Zach right now rather than myself. I so want to scream like a little girl right now, like I do when Pat and I go see horror movies. But I can't. I have to act like a 'dude' right now. I tried my hardest to quell my fear, besides the fact that my ankles were shaking.

"Are you Geo Stelar?" Ryan asked, in an angry tone.

I looked around, hoping someone would lie. I quickly pointed to myself.

I asked in a stupid manner, "W- W-Who? M-M-M-Me?"

Ryan grabbed me by my shirt and flung me into the closet two desks behind me.

"Don't play with me, you runt! Are you Geo Stelar?" Ryan yelled.

"Yes! I'm Geo Stelar! What do you want with me?" I yelled out of fear.

"I'm challenging you to a fight!" Ryan yelled.

"No way! I'm refuse to fight you!" I yelled back.

"Excuse me?" Ryan yelled, furious by my response.

He picked me up by the collar of my shirt. I looked into his eyes and saw that blood red color that legend said of.

"You are going to fight me at 3:00 pm in the basement hallway. Understand?" He said calmly but still angry.

I didn't respond because I was too scared to. He got angry by my no response.

He yelled in my face, "Understand, maggot?"

"Y-Yes!" I said shyly, scared for what was to come.

"Good" Ryan said, calmly.

He literally let go of my shirt, causing me to fall down right on my butt.

He looked down at me and said, "And don't be late, or else"

He left the classroom as if nothing happened. As soon as Ryan was around the corner of the hall, Pat immediately helped me up and asked if I was alright. Pat looked so worried, so I had to tell him the truth.

"Yeah, it's just that I'm... scared..." I said, admitting the truth.

"I would figure. Those 'threats' he used would even scare me!" Pat said.

Zach finally came out of hiding from under Mr. Shepar's desk. He walked back over to where Pat and I were standing.

He asked, nervously, "So, are you going to do it?"

That's when I went deep into thought. First of all, I'm not much of a fighter. I'm 'more of a lover' as Sonia said once said about me. Naturally, I'm the kind of person who doesn't generally fight. I prefer using words to resolve conflict rather than violence. I usually only fight as Mega Man when busting EM Wave Viruses. In fact, I actually only been in one fist fight before. That was about 7 years ago. Also, Omega- Xis was kinda moving my arms for me, so that can't count. So I'm new to this whole fighting thing. Second, I am basically an ant compared to Ryan. Ryan is about who knows how tall. Also, the fact that he threw me into a closet stands for his incredible strength. And finally three, I have no self defense skills. I know, guys are supposed to be able to fight, but you know I never got around to learning. All of my Mega Man skills would probably not work in real life. I can't do all of those flips and punches and such outside the Wave World. I would probably break my back before I was able to do all of that! So now, I'm basically done for.

"I- I have no idea!" I said, scared out of my little mind.

Bud got up and touched my shoulder.

He dully said, "Dude, I have no words to say to show my sorrow for your death"

"OMG! I'M GOING TO DIE!" I yelled out in complete fear.

I got on my knees and I covered my head with my hands, cowering in fear of the realization that I will probably die today. Pat looked like he couldn't believe I, the usually collected person, was losing my marbles.

He picked me up off of the floor and said, "Geo... BE. A. MAN!"

"I DON'T WANT TO RIGHT NOW!" I said back in agony.

He dropped me back on the floor like a rag doll.

He looked down on me and said, "Get a grip! You're not going to die!"

"I'm pretty sure I am!" I said.

Pat looked like he wanted to throw me off a bridge.

"Geo, I promise that aren't going to die today!" Pat said, trying to hold down his rising anger.

"Are you sure?" I said.

"Yes! I'm pretty positive that you aren't dying today! Or anytime soon either! Look, I'll be there to help you if you need it."

"Really?" I asked, suddenly regaining my happiness.

"Of course! That's what a best friend would do if his best friend was about to face the toughest fighter in school!"

My heart instantly crumbled and went back to my 'why do I have to die' state of mind. Pat laughed sadly for me, realizing what he did.

When everything finally was rearranged back into order, Crystal finally came in the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone!" Crystal said, happily.

Uh oh... That's all I could think as soon as Crystal came in the room. I looked at Pat. He had that same look on his face. Great... I definitely can't tell her about what happened today. She would probably be ashamed of me or something. I hate it when that happens. I don't want Crystal getting involved in this anyway. So then on, Pat and I decided to keep the fight a secret. I am hoping that no one tells her.

Now its my favorite class of all time- lunch! At our school, we have a large cafeteria like any other high school. Since we have many students in the school, only the juniors and seniors eat lunch in the cafeteria. So, I won't be able to ever have lunch with Haley. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. She talks way too much. Having to spend a whole entire 45 minutes listening to her talk would drive insane. But I also have lunch with Ryan... I looked behind me and saw that Ryan was sitting a couple of tables behind me. He was staring at me angrily with his arms folded. I quickly turned back around as if I saw nothing. Now I would rather prefer to have lunch with Haley than Ryan right now! Anyway, my table is near the windows and near the lunch line. Pat, Bud, Zack, and I always sit together. Crystal tries her best to sit with us but Luna grabs her before she gets the chance.

Today, I packed my lunch. It consisted of a regular old ham and cheese sandwich, a bag of chips, and a can of Moca- Mola. Pat's lunch was a tomato and cheese sandwich(eww), an apple, and a can of Flite. Zack's lunch was a egg salad sandwich, a container of beans and corn, and a bottle of water.

"Why the beans and corn, Zack?" I asked, curious of the weird lunch combination.

"Beans and corn are said to make you taller. They promote muscle growth. More muscle growth equals me being taller!" Zack said, trying to be studious.

Pat and I sweat dropped, dumbfounded by Zack's obsession to become taller.

I looked over at Bud's lunch and was completely weirded out. He had a huge bag of chips, a pulled pork sandwich, and two cans of Moca- Mola. The sandwich made me drool at first. Then, Bud started eating and I started to feel so sorry for that sandwich. He ate like a savage, or a barbarian as Luna said. See kids, this is why you eat healthy food rather than unhealthy food like a pulled pork sandwich. It makes you seem like a rabid animal that finally found food to eat in front of all of your friends.

Halfway through lunch, I suddenly heard someone tap on the window next to me. I turned to my right and saw a boy around my age there. He had black hair and sharp black eyes. He had two small scars under his eyes. In his hair were two yellow and orange barrettes. He wore a magenta body suit,a black and purple jacket which bottom extended all the way down to his lower knees to form a bat- like cloak, black and yellow boots, and black and purple fingerless gloves. Around his neck was a chain that had a pretty blue pendant. When I realized who it was, I smiled in surprise.

"Jack!" I said, happy to see him.

He smirked in a devilish way.

Jack is Tia's younger brother. He used to go to my school along with his sister, but the two left the school when Ace was hospitalized. When his sister married Ace, Jack didn't take that very well. Jack doesn't seem to partially like his new 'brother- in- law' at all. In fact, he practically hates him. He can't find a way to love his sister's husband. But he can find a way to love her daughter. Jack is considered Carrie's uncle because her mother is Jack's sister. But he doesn't care about that. He practically is Carrie's older brother and best friend! He cares for her greatly. In fact, Carrie's first sentence was "Big Brotha is home!". It probably made him cry.

Anyway, besides his hate for Ace and adoration of Carrie, Jack is also famous at school for being the "King of Games". He is the school's best card player. From poker to blackjack, Jack knows how to play and win every game! I kind of admire him for being so cool whenever he plays his games. He has potential to being one of the popular kids in school, unfortunately he's very anti- social. Jack also seems to get in trouble a lot. He somehow ends up in detention often, which ticks off his sister a lot. Besides that, he's a great friend to have. He isn't in my class this year; he's in the class next door to me: 3- B.

Jack eats lunch on the roof of the school, so I went up there with him. If you must know, it's prohibited to go on the school roof during school hours. SO this one of the reasons why he end up in detention on a near daily basis.

"Hey Jack!" I said.

"Hey, star boy!" Jack replied coolly.

"I'm not 'star boy', darn it! It's Geo!" I said, a little frustrated.

"Whatever" Jack said.

I looked at Jack's hand and noticed he was carrying a plastic bag full of something.

"Hey, what's in the bag?" I asked.

Jack lifted the bag up and showed me its contents- Mega Munchies. I sweat dropped from seeing the snack bars.

"They're for Carrie! Not for the idiot!" Jack said.

Jack quickly looked away, embarrassed by his display of brotherly love.

"Aww~! I smell a 'big brother complex' arising!" I said.

"Shut up! I don't have a 'big brother complex'!" Jack said, embarrassed by my comment.

We started laughing. After that, Jack finally said why he was there.

"So... I heard you're fighting that Ryan Achils guy" Jack said.

My heart sunk.

"So it is true..." Jack said.

He put his hands in his pockets. He looked into the view of Echo Ridge, looking for some random building to look at.

"Does Pat know?" He asked.

"Yep. He said he's going to help me out, but I'm not sure what he can do..."

I looked at the ground.

"I'm pretty much done for. I'm not a fighter of any sort! And Ryan is extremely strong!"

"Tch, that Ryan sounds more like a coward to me!"

I quickly turned my head back up.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Jack turned back around to me and daringly said, "Attacking those who are weaker than you is cowardly!"

I found it nice to hear such a thing from Jack until I realized that he was unknowingly calling me weak. I didn't take any offense because I know that I'm weak in my human form. I'm only strong when I'm Mega Man. Sucks, right? Wish I had some strength and speed now.

"You know what, I feel so sorry for you that I'm going to help you!" Jack said with a smirk on his face.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yep! I don't like that Ryan dude anyway!" Jack said, coolly.

"Thanks, man! I _really_ need the help!" I said, finally gaining back the happiness from earlier.

"No problemo!" Jack said.

Jack suddenly pulled out a deck of cards from his back pocket.

"Wanna play? It'll calm you down a little" He asked.

"Sure!"

"So what do you want to play? Blackjack? Poker? _Strip_ poker?"

"Anything but strip poker" I said.

"Aw~ I know you want to..." Jack said suggestively.

"NO! Not in front of girls!" I said.

"Well you didn't care last-" Jack said before I covered his mouth.  
"What happens at camp _stays_ at camp" I said.

"Fine, no strip poker. Let's play blackjack then." He said.

We went back into the cafeteria to my table and were greeted by everyone's 'Hey, Jack's

"Who wants to play blackjack?" He asked.

Surprisingly Bud immediately said, "I will! I want my pride back!"

"Oh really? I guess you want me to take your dignity, too."

"Yeah right! I'm gonna beat you this time!"

"Fine by me" Jack finally said.

I knew that this game was personal so I decided to step out. Jack dealt the cards to Bud and himself. After five turns, Jack won.

"NO WAY!" Bud yelled, "You had to have cheated!"

"Nope. Everyone thinks that. I've never cheated any game I play at, even those that I'm bad at"

Bud grit his teeth together and left where Jack was to agonize over his lose.

"Amazing! You really are a King of Games!" Zack said, amazed by Jack's skill.

"So cool!" I said.

"Nah, I don't deserve your praise. I just got lucky" Jack said, smirking.

Suddenly, the bell rang.

"Well, I have to take my leave. Meet me by my locker later, Geo. See ya!"

"Bye, Jack!" Everyone said.

Jack left the cafeteria first and went to his classroom. Pat tapped me on my shoulder.

"He's helping you too?" He asked.

"Yep, and it seems he doesn't like Ryan anyway" I replied.

"Yeah..." Pat said.

We went upstairs to our classrooms. On the way up, I heard someone call my name. I turned around and saw the voice's owner- Crystal.

"Oh, hey Crystal!" I said.

"Hi. Um... Is there anything wrong?" She asked worriedly.

"Um.. What do you mean?"

"I noticed you looked worried the whole morning, even in science. I was just wondering if you were okay..."

Oh great, she noticed. I absolutely can't tell her about my fight with Ryan in about 2 hours. I just can't... Knowing Crystal, she might want to help out or prevent the fight. Of course, that would lead to death for both of us. But it would also be a good idea if she helped out. This girl knows how to fight. Also, Ryan might have a soft spot for fighting girls. But still, Ryan is like a freaking robot so that might not be a good idea.

"Nothing at all. I'm just worried about finals and stuff. There coming in a month and I still haven't studied for them!"

"Oh... If you say so..." Crystal said, still worried.

She walked into the classroom. Darn... Maybe I should have told her... But its for your safety...

The last bell of the day went off, signaling it was the end of the day. My stomach immediately turned into a knot. I packed up my things into my bag. It was as if time slowed down. I can't believe this... I'm actually going to fight Ryan now... This can't be happening... My ankles began to shake and my palms began to sweat. Pat noticed and tapped my shoulder.

"Don't be nervous. Jack and I will be there" He said, reassuring me.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. My stomach stopped knotting but I was still shaking and sweating.

"T-thanks... I really needed that" I said, nervously.

I threw my bag over my shoulder and headed out. Bud and Zach were outside waiting for me.

"Geo! Good luck! I know you'll win!" Bud said.

"Yeah! You can beat him! Don't give up now!" Zach said.

"Thank- Thank you so much for the encouragement, guys!" I said, happily.

"Your welcome!" They both said.

"I going to come to help out! He can't beat me! I _am_ the Raging Bull!" Bud said.

I know its very odd to mention it now, but Bud also is known around the school as the Raging Bull. He's the star player on the school's wrestling team. The wrestling team has won every championship they were in ever since Bud made the team. He's called the Raging Bull for his strength. Even the heaviest of guys fall to Bud's strength. So the fact that Bud is going to help out is a true honor! I really need it!

"Really? Thanks, Bud! I appreciate your help!" I said.

"No problem! You need it! You're too scrawny to beat Ryan up anyway!" Bud said.

My heart sunk in a instant. I fell into my own personal corner of self- loathing.

"Woops. Sorry dude! But its the truth!" Bud said.

I got back up, still sad by Bud's comment.

"Anyway, I can't come! I have a Technology Society meeting today! Sorry!" Zack said.

"It's alright! You should have fun at your nerd fest anyway!" I said, joking about Zack.

"Hey! We aren't nerds! We- We are... gentlemen. Sophisticated gentlemen, to be exact. We are sophisticated gentlemen who know a lot about technology. Just because we know about technology doesn't mean we're nerds!"

"Hey, its better than being called a geek!" I said.

Everyone laughed. Zack still looked a little ticked off but he let it slide for now.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Zack said.

"Yep!" I said.

Everyone parted. Bud went to the school basement. Pat and I went to Jack's locker, just like how he asked. When we got there, Jack was still gathering his books. I looked inside his locker. It was filled with things involving card games, including his favorite card- the Joker. I also noticed a picture of Carrie and Mrs. Tia in there. I also noticed there was a picture of Ace in there too, except I didn't realize it at first because his face had all of these X's and stabs on it. It seems he really does have a hate thing for Ace. Jack finally closed his locker after about 2 minutes.

"Wow... You really do have a brother complex." I said.

"Ah, shut up. It's just one picture of Carrie!" He said in defense.

Pat and I laughed. We both know that Jack loves his little niece.

"Anyway, you guys are ready to go?" He asked, throwing his black backpack on his shoulder.

"Yep!" I said.

"Then, let's roll out!" Jack said.

Jack grabbed his plastic bag of Mega Snacks and we all headed downstairs. On the way to the basement, Jack stopped.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask. Do you guys have a plan?" He asked, curious of our answer.

Plan? I never thought up of one. I turned to Pat and he turned to me. We both know that we have no plan.

"Nope!" I said.

"Well, that's just great! You should at least have a plan!" Jack said, rolling his eyes in disbelief.

"Well, how about we come up with one now?" Pat said.

Pat is the strategist in the group. He's better at coming up plans than me.

Somehow with Jack's ideas and Pat's good strategies, we came up with a plan. I was to fight as best as I could. When I can't get up, I would yell the signal and Jack would fight for me. If Jack fails, its Pat's turn and I would try to escape. That plan sounds perfect... But wait... Aren't we forgetting someone?

"What about Bud? Isn't he coming too?" I said.

Jack and Pat looked at each other. That's right. Bud is coming to help out. Once we get to the basement, we can't tell him the plan. And he is probably there already.

"Great! You didn't tell me about _that_!" Jack said sarcastically.

"Sorry?" I said.

"Well, then we are going to have to think of another plan now!"

The three of sat there for about 10 minutes, still without a plan. I took out my Hunter- VGX and looked at the time- 2: 53. Great, we only have 7 minutes. I looked at everyone else. Jack was looking at the floor. Pat was looking at the ceiling. Suddenly, his eyes opened in surprise. I think he has a plan.

"I have an idea!" Pat said.

Jack looked up at him. We all huddled together to discuss this new plan. When we seperated, Jack smirked happily.

"That sounds pretty good, grass- head!" Jack said devilishly.

"So let's head to the basement!" Pat said.

(Haley's POV)

"I-I have to find her! Where could Crystal be?" I said to myself.

I was running down the hall to Crystal's classroom. I need to tell her about the thing that Ryan told me at lunch! When I got to Crystal's classroom, Crystal and Luna were there. Perfect!

"Crystal, there you are!" I said.

Crystal and Luna turned around towards me. I fell on my knees, exhausted from running up four flights of stairs to get here.

"Haley! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home by now?" Crystal said.

"I have to tell you something!" I said.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Ryan wants you to be in the basement to watch them fight!" I said.

"Fight? Who?" Crystal and Luna said in unison.

"Duh! Geo and Ryan! What, you didn't hear?" I said.

Crystal and Luna looked at each other. Crystal looked extremely worried. Luna looked extremely ticked off!

"WHAT? THERE'S A FIGHT GOING ON IN MY SCHOOL?" Luna said angrily.

Woops... I guess that Crystal and Luna didn't hear about the fight.

"WHERE IS IT HAPPENING?" Luna barked at me.

"In the basement!" I said, scared for my life.

Luna turned to Crystal.

"Crystal, we're going! This ends here and now!" Luna yelled.

Crystal quickly grabbed her bag and the two ran out of the room. I ran to the door. Oh great... I still didn't get to tell them what the rest I had to say. I can only hope that they and Geo don't get hurt... Huh?

I turned around and a guy in black lunged at me.

"AHH!" I screamed.

(Geo's POV)

In order to get to the basement of the school, you have to go through a door in the gym. Head down that staircase and you're there. On the way down, Jack pulled a playing card and held it between his fingers. I wonder why he would be pulling out a card at this time...

The basement was completely the opposite of what I thought of! I thought it would be full of rats and pipes. Actually, the basement is where all of the sports' equipment is left, which I didn't know until I got there. A group of bystanders were already there, waiting for me and the fight that was to come. They immediately left a space for me to enter the makeshift ring they made. Pat and Jack went into the front of crowd to my right. I looked to my left and saw Bud there. He nodded his head as if he had a plan. I nodded back. When I entered the ring, Ryan was there, sitting on a broken desk.

Ryan said, "Well, isn't it Geo Stelar. I'm glad you came. I thought I would have to hunt you down and beat you up in front of all of your friends tomorrow morning. But I see that you actually came. That takes some guts. I like that about you. But that doesn't mean I'm giving you any mercy!"

Ryan kicked the desk he was on into the wall near him. The desk broke apart on impact with the wall. The 'bang' noise the desk made caused me to jump a little.

"Aww... Scared of a little noise. You really are a wuss!" He said.

He came lunging at me. He tried to punch me but I somehow blocked it. The crowd roared, signaling that the fight began.

"Why did you challenge me?" I yelled at him for an answer.  
"I thought you should know why, squirt!" Ryan yelled back.  
He quickly tried to punch me again. I dodged it again. The crowd roared

"Why should I know? You're the one who challenged me! I don't even talk to you!" I yelled back.  
I tried to throw a punch but he dodged by grabbing my arm. He threw me over his shoulder and onto the floor below.

"Crap!" I yelled as I hit the floor in pain.

He put his foot on top of me. He leaned into my face. I looked into his eyes that were slowly changing to their legendary blood red.

"The girl, Geo. That's why I'm fighting you!" He said in a calm but horrifying tone.

"What girl?" I said.

He got of my face but still had his foot on me.

"That hot blonde in your homeroom! You know, Crystal!" He yelled for all to hear.

My face instantly paled from hearing that. What could Crystal have to do with a horrifying senior like Ryan? I looked over to my right and saw Pat. His face was also pale and full of shock.

"C-Crystal? What does _she_ have to do with our fight?" I yelled.

"You know, you're such a idiot. You don't even realize who I am, Geo!" Ryan said.

He kicked me right in my gut. I yelped in pain from his blow. I turned over, holding my stomach. Ryan went in front of me and crouched down. He looked into my eyes in a playful way.

"Oh, Geo... Do you even know who I am?" He asked in a playful way.

"No, I don't." I said calmly.

Ryan looked a little surprised by my daringly calm comment.

I somehow got myself back up, still holding my gut.

"But I do know one thing" I said.

Ryan got back up as well and put one of his hands in his pants pocket.

"And what could possibly be it?" He asked.

"The king thinks you're a coward!" I yelled.

Suddenly, something hit Ryan in the face. He peeled it off of him in disgust. To his surprise, it was a playing card- The Joker.

"A joker? What is this doing here?" He asked.

Suddenly, someone tapped Ryan on the shoulder.

"Yo!" The person said.

Ryan turned around and saw it was Jack. Jack smirked devilishly.

"You know, you remind me of someone..." Jack said, "That I REALLY don't like!"

Jack jump- kicked Ryan into a pile of dysfunctional volleyballs. The crowd roared as a new opponent entered the fight.

"Why you little-! You have some nerve interrupting my fight!" Ryan yelled, extremely angered.

"Well, you have some nerve beating up a kid half your size. How about you fight me instead? I have enough smarts the size of your brain- a peanut!" Jack said, trying in anyway he can to tick off Ryan.

Ryan was furious by what Jack said.

"That's it! You're dead!" Ryan yelled.

That's when the fight escalated. Ryan and Jack started going at it, kicking and punching at every chance they had. The crowd went wild when the real excitement began. Meanwhile, I quickly crawled over to where Pat was.

"Geo, you alright?" He asked.

"Better than being in the fight!" I said.

We stood there, hoping that Jack would be victorious.

(3rd POV)

While the fight between Jack and Ryan continued, Luna and Crystal were coming to the first floor. In Echo Ridge High School, the only way to the gym (where the basement is) is through the first floor. Luna and Crystal were running toward the entrance when suddenly a group of about 7 boys were standing in front of the entrance.

"Who are you? Ge out of the way or else you'll receive a detention for loitering in the hallways!" Luna yelled, trying to get them to leave.

The group didn't move a muscle.

"Hey! I said to leave or else!" Luna yelled again.

The group didn't move again.

"That's it! I said to MOVE!" Luna said, grabbing one of them.

Suddenly, the person she touched grabbed her hand. Luna looked shocked by his sudden movement. Suddenly the whole group of boys started attacking the two girls. The boy put Luna in a headlock. Crystal looked shocked.

"Don't worry about me! You deal with them!" She said.

Luna suddenly bit into her attacker's arm. He screamed in pain and let go of Luna. As Luna fell to her feet, she kicked the boy into the wall. He hit the floor and didn't get back up. Crystal was trying to deal with the rest of the boys. She kicked one of them away but he still got back up. Luna grabbed that boy and threw him into the wall. He fell down as well. 2 down; 5 left to go.

Luna stood beside Crystal. The two in unison jump-kicked the two boys in front of them. As those two fell, Crystal and Luna punched the person coming at their side. The last boy came lunging at the two girls. They quickly punched him in the face and he fell. The two blondes defeated their attackers. Luna swiped her hands clean and put a piece of hair that fell out during the fight behind her ear. Crystal wiped off her skirt that was dirtied slightly in the fight. After they were done fixing themselves up, the two gave each other a well deserved high-five.

"You're pretty good at fighting! You should join a sports team" Luna said.

"No thanks. I'm not into sports" Crystal replied.

The two girls giggled. During the slight happiness they had, suddenly a boy that towered over Luna and Crystal appeared. He grabbed both of them.

"AHHH!" Luna screamed.

(Geo's POV)

The fight between Jack and Ryan was reaching its highest point. Both were covered in bruises from head to toe. Jack looked confident as ever, but I think that he has started to slow down. Ryan was doing perfectly fine unfortunately. In fact, I haven't see a drop of sweat from him. Pat and I were becoming more worried as Jack slowed down more and more. Finally, Jack stopped a moment, trying to catch his breath. Ryan took this to his advantage and mercilessly kicked right in the gut. Jack fell to the floor in pain.

"Crap! That hurts!" He yelled.

He clenched his stomach and lifted his upper body up. He looked over at Pat and I.

"Yo, grass-head! It's your go!" Jack said.

Pat shook his head. He walked slowly into the ring. I helped Jack back up.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yep" He said.

I looked back up to see that Pat and Ryan were talking.

"Aren't you one of the dorks that hang with Geo?" Ryan said.

"Yes, I do know Geo, but I'm not a dork. I'm his best friend!" Pat said.

He tried to throw a punch but Ryan quickly dodged it. Ryan thrusted his knee into Pat's face. Pat fell to the floor, unable to get back up.

"Pat!" I yelled.

Ryan pulled Pat up by the scruff of his shirt. Pat still didn't respond.

"I'm surprised. I thought you would give me a little bit of a fight, leprechaun. But it seems you didn't. I'm disappointed."

Suddenly, Pat laughed in a sinister manner. Wha- What happened to Pat? I know a sound like that would never come out of my Pat. What's going on? Pat looked up at Ryan a little. Suddenly, Ryan shivered a little. I looked and saw that whoever was being held by Ryan wasn't Pat. It couldn't be Pat, could it?

"You know, you're _really_ stupid..." Pat said in a dark voice.

Pat suddenly kicked Ryan in the gut, sending him flying into a rack of dodgeballs. Pat landed on his feet like a cat. I looked into Pat eyes. They were yellow and full of pure evil. I started to shiver.  
"P-Pat?" I asked, scared of what he was going to say.

Ryan suddenly yelled, "Why you little-!"

He ran towards Pat. Pat just stood there. Suddenly, someone came in to the ring. The guy was gigantic and he was carrying two things.

The guy said, "Ryan, I found them!"

Ryan suddenly stopped. He looked over to the guy and started laughing.

"Thanks! But did you just say 'them'?" Ryan said.

The guy said, "Yeah! I got the two girls you were looking for!"

The boy roughly dropped what, or should I say who, he was carrying- Luna and Crystal. Crystal fell on the floor and didn't get up. Luna fell on her butt and moaned in pain. Suddenly, Luna's face turned bright red.

"Why you little brute! How dare you attack, carry, and fling _me _around like I was some rag doll, you smelly gigantic balooga!" Luna screamed angrily at the top of her lungs at the boy who attacked her.

Suddenly, Pat flinched and touched his head. He looked at Crystal's unmoving body and gasped. I looked at Pat and saw that his normal brown eyes returned. Pat immediately ran to her side. He lifted her up into his arms.  
"Crystal?" He asked.

He started to shake her awake but she seemed to be knocked out. On seeing this, I walked Jack over to where the two were. Bud also ran over. Jack looked at her, trying to see if she was okay.

"Oh, my Crystal! Is she dead?" Bud asked like a worried mother.

"Calm down, she's alright. She's just unconscious"

"That's still not good!" Bud said.

I looked at Crystal. She still was asleep. I looked back at Ryan and his assistant. Ryan didn't look too happy about what his giant brought back for him.

"Two? I said one! How did you get two?" Ryan yelled.

"Sorry, boss! I swore you said two!"

"Well... It doesn't matter now- Ouch!" Ryan said until Luna slapped him in the face.

"I'm speaking to you two, Ryan Achils!" Luna yelled.

Ryan touched where Luna had hit him. He looked back at her with that 'oh no, she did not just hit me' face. He turned bright red as all. He turned to the giant again.

"You idiot, out of everyone, you picked up _this_ chick!" Ryan yelled.

"Chick? I'm not a chick!" Luna said.

"Oh, would you shut up for five minutes!" Ryan finally yelled at Luna.

Luna suddenly looked scared. She walked away, defeated by Ryan's rage.

"Thank you. Now where was I? Ah yes... WHY DID YOU TAKE, OUT OF EVERYONE IN THE WORLD, THE ANNOYING SCHOOL PRESIDENT?" Ryan yelled at his partner.

Ryan rubbed the temples of his head, trying to calm himself down. He took a breath and seemed to calm down. While he was doing this, Crystal finally woke up from her sleeping state. She looked around, trying to figure out what happened. Suddenly, she looked up at Pat. Figuring out what happened,her face turned bright red. Pat looked down and suddenly smiled.

"Crystal! Are you alright?" Pat asked worriedly.

"Y- Yes... Where am I? All I remember last was being grabbed by a very tall person..."

I said, "You are in the school basement. Do you know why Ryan wants you?"

"No, not at all. But I'm about to find out" Crystal said.

They stood there for five seconds until Pat realized that Crystal meant that she wanted to be put down. Pat put Crystal back on her feet. Crystal flipped some of her hair out of her face and walked over to where Ryan was. Ryan's furious attitude from earlier immediately went out the window when he saw Crystal standing before him. In fact, he even smiled a bit.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake, Crystal" He said happily.

"Ryan, why are you doing this? If you were looking for me, you could have just said so; you didn't have to get my friends involved with this!" Crystal said, showing a slight bit of anger in her last sentence.

"You see, sweetheart, I get bored very easily. I needed some entertainment. So I thought it would be fun to test the strength of your so- called friends, which I see isn't that much" Ryan said, light- heartedly.

"Entertainment? Why you-" Crystal said before Luna touched her shoulder.

Luna shook her head side to side, showing that she didn't want Crystal to get hurt. Crystal calmed down a little. Crystal looked at Ryan dead in his maroon eyes, wanting to probably strangle him.

"What do you even want with me anyway?" Crystal asked.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that!" Ryan said.

Ryan took out his red, black, and orange Hunter-VGX from his pants pocket. Wait... I started to remember what Ryan said to me earlier.

"_That hot blonde in your homeroom! You know, Crystal!"_

_You know, you're such a idiot. You don't even realize who I am, Geo!"_

"_Oh, Geo... Do you even know who I am?"_

_Do you even know who I am..._

My eyes opened in shock. I finally pieced everything together. Ryan is a-

Before I could finish my thought, Ryan held his Hunter-VGX in the air above him.

"No. 34! Ryan Achils! On- Air!" He yelled.

A dark red light fell onto Ryan. I had to shield my eyes from the wind that formed from Ryan. When the light disappeared, Ryan was in a EM Wave form. He wore a pitch black bodysuit, surrounded by red, black, and orange armor. The visor on his helmet was light blue. In his hand, he held a huge ax. Why didn't I realize this earlier? Ryan is one of the Star Hunters! And this whole mess was started just to get Crystal and to weaken me! Crap! Why can't I ever figure important things like this out earlier?

Ryan smirked as he swung his ax over his shoulder.

"See you later, Mega- idiot!" He said.

He grabbed his target and sped away at light speed.

"Crystal!" I yelled, too late.  
"NO!" Pat said.

Pat, Jack, and Bud surrounded me, knowing that Crystal was gone.

"Geo, I'm right here." A voice said from behind me.

We all turned around and said that Crystal was still here, standing a little bit in shock.

"Really? That's good!" Pat said, a little relieved.

"Wait... If you're here, then who did Ryan grab?" Jack said.

We looked around and noticed that someone from our group was missing. I suddenly realized that the girl who Ryan grabbed had a familiar huge set of pigtails.

"Ah crap, he got Luna!" I said.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Pain of the Archaeans

"LUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Bud was the first to cry when we all realized that Ryan Achils kidnapped the wrong blonde.

If you guys don't remember, I just had a fight with Ryan Achils. Ryan Achils is the toughest fighter in school and, what I wish I had known earlier, a Star Hunter. After the fight somewhat ended, he transformed into his EM Wave Form and zoomed away with what he thought was Crystal. It turns out he grabbed Luna by accident.

Now here we are, still in the school basement.

"LUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAA A! WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO YOU?" Bud shouted, on his knees.

Crystal looks pretty worried as she sat down in a chair, looking down in her lap. Pat was standing next to Crystal, seeming to be somewhat worried and somewhat relieved. Jack looks a little annoyed, holding his injured side, probably because he lost to Ryan. Bud, as you can see, is crying like a little girl. And what am I doing? Sitting down, trying to figure out what to do next. Yep, this is just another day at Echo Ridge High School!

I felt my Hunter-VGX vibrate. I looked at it and it was Omega-Xis.

"Yeah?" I mumbled.

"What are we going to do about Luna? She's getting on my last nerve with this damsel in distress crap."

"I agree. I guess we should do what we do best, right?"

"So it's going buck wild time?"

"Yes, it's going buck wild time."

"YESSSSSS!"

"LUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAA AAAAA! COME BACK!" Bud yelled out again.

Omega-Xis gave Bud a dirty look. "He's starting to get on my nerves."

And another wail came from Bud.

I said, "You're not the only one..."

Jack seems to be getting more annoyed. Crystal looked like she wanted to cry. I thought Bud was about to start singing the chorus to "Baby, Come Back."

"LUUUUUUNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAA-"

"OH WOULD YOU F$&KING SHUT UP?" Jack finally yelled out, pure anger in his voice.

Everyone gasped. Oh no he didn't just use the F-word.

"Jack, we aren't supposed to curse! Capcom is gonna be pissed if they hear about this!" Pat said.

"Screw Capcom!" Jack snapped back, "Bud, Luna ain't dead! So stop crying like a whiny little bit-"

"HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

Everyone stopped arguing and turned to me. I got up, slightly ticked off.

"Everyone, just freakin' calm down!" I yelled, flaming with anger.

Jack started to cool off, even though he looke like he wanted to continue yelling at Bud. Bud stopped crying and got up from the floor.

Oh they know when I get loud, it just got real real fast.

"Luna is probably fine right now. She's probably ticked off, but she's fine. There is nothing to be crying about-"

Suddenly, I heard a sob. Everyone turned around and looked at Crystal. She was burying her visibly red face in her hands. I could see some water dripping from her pale hands. I was witnessing Crystal crying in front of me for the first time. It was a tad startling for me. She's a pretty tough girl. But hey, everyone cries, right?

"T-This is all m-m-my fault..." Crystal muttered, in between her sobs.

Pat walked in front of Crytal and lowered himself until he was a little lower than her height. He put his hand on her shaking shoulder and rubbed it in a slow circular motion.

"I couldn't do anything to s-s-save her... And I-I was right n-n-next to h-h-her..."

Pat looked Crystal in the eyes and said in a soothing tone, "It's all right. No one suspected this was going to happen. It's not your fault. It's no one's fault. You shouldn't blame yourself for this happening."

"B-But-"

"No buts. You should be happy rather than sad because we're going to go save Luna from that hairy, smelly, creepy, deranged, ugly, evil son of a-"

I said. "Pat. Remember. Capcom."

"Right! I mean Ryan!" Pat said before he went back to his comforting tone, "So there's no need to cry. We'll save Luna no matter what!"

Crystal looked up a little from her hands. I could slightly see the redness of her eyes.

"Really?" Crystal sniffled.

"Yep! I promise!" Pat gave her a sincere smile.

Suddenly, Crystal fell out of her seat and hugged Pat. Pat went stiff as a pin. After realizing what was happening to him, he slowly but surely wrapped his arms around the girl in his chest.

"Thank you..."

"Y-you're welcome!"

Crystal let go of Pat and rubbed the tears out of her eyes. Pat looked up at me and I gave him the 'you obviously did this for ulterior motives' shame face. Pat responded by giving me the 'of course not...' sarcastic face. I hit my head in disbelief. Oh Pat; you and your ulterior motives...

After that, Crystal and Pat got up. Everyone was waiting for me to say something. Darn it... I hate being in the leader position...

"Okay. As I was saying, we're going to get Luna now. Bud, Jack, you come with me. We're going to get Luna. Crystal, you stay here. And Pat..."

Pat looked up at me. "Yes?"

"You protect Crystal."

"Huh?"

I put my hands on his shoulders.

"Pat, this is a really important job that only you can do."

I started to walk away when I heard Pat say, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing! Nothing at all!" Bud said, chuckling a little.

Jack continued, "Ah, don't be chicken, grass-head! I know you'll really enjoy it! And do a good job or else."

"HEY! This isn't fair! Stop messing with my head!"

Bud, Jack, and I laughed.

"See you later, Pat!" I said, as we left Pat and Crystal to be alone.

As I was almost up there stairs I heard Pat say, "Uh- Yeah! There is nothing to fear, Crystal! For I, Patrick Sprigs, is here! All enemies in my path will be destroyed by my electrifying power."

Oh Pat... Trying to be macho it seems...

* * *

Jack, Bud, and I all left the school's basement. We began to run as fast as we could, looking for signs of our dear blonde friend.

We stopped for a second in the cafeteria to catch our breath. Bud, though tired, continued to look for Luna. Jack and I were slightly impressed by Bud's display of loyalty.

"LUNAAAAAAAAAAAAA? Where are you?" By the tone of his voice, I think he wanted to hear Luna shout back at him.

Jack looked up at him and said, "Hey, genius, do you think that's going to work?"

"No, but at least I'm trying! All you have been doing is running and complaining about your side hurting!"

It looked as if Bud pinched one of Jack's nerves. "Well, at least I'm the one who did most of the fighting! All you did was stand around and waste air!"

It looked like a fight was about to break out between Jack and Bud.

"Hey, hey, hey! No fighting right now! You can beat each other up like crazy after we find Luna!"

Jack and Bud surprisingly calmed down.

Jack began to walk off to a table. "You know, you're lucky. If Geo wasn't here and Luna wasn't missing, I would have already beaten you up." Jack looked away and crossed his arms, defeated by my earlier shouting.

I can't believe how much spunk Jack has. He is already pretty beat up and yet he still wants to try to start another fight. But I guess that is what makes Jack Jack.

"Anyway, why are you so worked up about Luna getting kidnapped? Didn't this crap happen all the time when we were in elementary school?"

"Because... I like her."

"Oh that's a great answer." Then Jack realized it. "WAIT WHATTTTT?!"

Jack and I were completely shocked by Bud's answer. H-h-he likes her? Is he out of his mind?

"D-d-d-did you just say you l-like Luna?" I said, unable to keep my shock out of my question.

"Yeah, I sure did." Bud said, somewhat proudly.

"How is it possible for someone to actually fall for that crazy beast of a woman?!" Jack said, dumbfounded.

"Now that I think about it, I've liked her for a while now."

"WHATTTTTTT?!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"Yep! I sorta had a crush on Luna after Taurus took over my body that first time. When she forgave me... My whole view of her changed." He touched his heart, as he began to speak from his heart about Luna. "I think she's a beautiful, graceful girl who shows her love through her mean comments and yelling. Truthfully, she does cares about everyone. Trust me, she prays every night for everyone's safety, especially yours, Geo. And I realized that I want to be the person Luna prays for in the night. I want to be the person who Luna begs to come to save her when she's been kidnapped. I want to be that person... so bad..."

I started to notice that Bud looked like he meant every word he said.

Bud lifted up his head and walked towards the cafeteria's windows. He looked outside, as if hoping to find his Luna out there.

"And that's why I'm training real hard with my boss! I sometimes train until I'm covered head to toe with bruises and until the wee hours in the morning! I really want to protect Luna! I really do!"

"Bud..." Oh that hit me right in the heart, dude.

I looked at Jack and he looked at me. I think that made him a bit sappy in the heart too.

Bud turned back to Jack and I with that happy look as always. "But enough with the lovey-dovey crap! Let's go find Luna!"

"Right!" Jack and I said.

Wow... Bud likes Luna... alot! Kinda like how I feel about Sonia... I started to blush, just thinking about Sonia. Darn it! Stay down, blushies! Stay down!

We all started to run off to continue our search until he heard a familiar person's heart-stopping scream.

"LUNA!"

We ran down the hallway to where the source of Luna's voice was. We turned the corner near the elevators to find Luna lying face down on the ground. Bud immediately ran to Luna's side. He lifted her up into his arms. Luna's face looked red and she looked asleep. I gasped, thinking Luna might have been hurt by Ryan. Bud looked upset. Jack looked away, but I could that he was angry as well. Bud shook Luna's body gently. Suddenly, she opened her eyes weakly.

"Bud?... Is that you?"

"Yeah! Geo and Jack are here too! Are you okay?"

"Kind of..." Luna snuck a peek at her left arm then quickly hid her arm from everyone's sight.

"That Ryan Achils beefhead... He's really bizarre! The whole time I was with him he was saying something about a girl named Layla. He must really care about her too because..."

Luna looked away, trying to get the courage to say what she wanted to say.

"He was crying..."

All of the guys with me looked shocked. For Ryan to be crying is like seeing a pig fly. Who is this "Layla" girl to Ryan? I'm not sure but I can say that he is probably the only person Ryan would cry about!

"Thanks for the tip, Luna."

"You're welcome..."

Jack and I looked at each other, both knowing what we were to do. We got up and were about to leave until Luna panicked and yelled for us. We both turned back around.

"What is it, Luna?" I asked.

"Ryan is going after Crystal now!"

Everyone's eyes opened in shock. Then I heard a shriek from a far. Crystal.

"Oh great! Now he's got Crystal!"

Jack and I began to run even faster after hearing Crystal scream. In fact, we were about to ditch Bud and Luna.

"Geo! Jack! Where are you guys going? Are you just going to just ditch me and Luna?"

"Yeah! We have to get Crystal! You stay with Luna!"

"WHAT? WHY?"

"Weren't you the one that said all that lovey-dovey crap earlier about how you wanted to protect Luna? Well this is your big chance to actually do that!"

Before Bud could respond again, Jack and I were already gone. I can feel however that Bud was pretty happy about that last minute decision we just made.

* * *

It took us about a minute to get down to the basement, a record time for me in fact. The school basement was wrecked. All of the already broken equipment was destroyed. The walls were covered with battle marks and black streaks. The floor's tiles were broken and one area had a huge slash mark in it.

I began to look around, hoping to find either Pat or Crystal in the mess. Suddenly, we heard coughing from the right of us. I quickly ran over and moved a training dummy aside to find my green-haired best friend injured from head to toe.

"Pat!"

I quickly pulled him out of the wreckage. Pat moved his head around and opened his eyes.

"Pat! Are you alright?"

He started to look around, still laying on the floor. Suddenly, he tried to get up but Jack put his foot on top of his chest.

"Grass-head, you're a little too bruised up to be moving around."

"Get off of me, Jack! I gotta find Crystal!" Pat looked really angry, as if a volcano was about to erupt in him.

"Pat! Calm down!"

Pat breathed in and out, calming down. Jack finally took his foot off of Pat. He quickly lifted himself up to a sitting position.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Ryan took Crystal."

Jack and I weren't shocked by Pat's answer, as we saw the condition of the room.

"He came out of nowhere and started slashing at us with a huge ax. I tried to fight back but he was too powerful..." Pat looked at the floor.

I patted his back in sympathy. He looked up at me, a little surprised by my response.

"Don't worry, Pat. We'll get Crystal back. Can you go to the first floor? Bud and Luna should be there."

"Yeah... I should be able to hold up until I get there."

He got up and started to walk out of the basement with a little limp in his step. Before he transcended the stairs in front of him, he turned back at me to say something.

"You better bring Crystal back, or else." I rarely see Pat with such a serious face.

I smiled. "Of course! So don't worry!"

Pat then gave us that common smile of his and went upstairs.

When he left, Jack and I turned to each other. Jack sat down on a pile of destroyed mats. Omega-Xis popped out of my Hunter-VGX so we could have conversation.

"Before you tell me otherwise, I already know about the Star Hunter and Star Guardian B-S."

I was a little surprised about it. I looked at Omega-Xis. Jack knows? But how? Ace wouldn't have told him, right?

"Ace told you?"

"Nah. That fathead doesn't tell me anything about any of his big projects at work. But you know me. I went through his files at home and found the Project Pleiades crap. I got curious and read the whole entire 140 pages of paperwork in a week or two. Speaking of which, did I ever put it back?... Nah, it's probably lost in my pigsty of a room!"

I'm debating whether I should be taken by surprise or should I have already suspected this from Jack. For him to steal important paperwork and then to lose it isn't something new for me to hear from him. I just can't wait to see how furious Ace is going to get from this dilemma.

"So yeah, I know everything already. Let me guess- Ryan is the Star Hunter."

"Yep."

"Crystal's the Star Guardian."

"Yep."

"Ryan devised the whole fight in order to weaken you."

"Yep."

"So he could catch Crystal."

"Yep."

"And you didn't realize that until the very last minute, as usual."

"Yep."

"So basically what you're saying is that you were, once again, being a idiot and didn't think about anything beforehand!"

"Yep."

"Man, you're a idiot!" Jack said, as he put his face into his palm in disbelief.

I said proudly, "I know I am! And that's why we're gonna save Crystal! Right?"

"Hey, when did I ever say that I was going to help you fight Ryan again?"

"When did you start following me?"

Jack couldn't respond to that. He knew that he was indeed coming along with Bud and I. Instead, he got up from his mats and put his hands in his pockets.

"Fine. Let's just get goody-goody-two-shoes before he does something Rated Teen on her."

"Right!"

Just before Jack set his first foot on the stairs, he turned to me and asked me a really great question.

"Where's Crystal and Ryan anyway?"

We both stopped immediately by that question. We have no flipping clue where Crystal is. Great... Just freaking great...

"Yo, Geo!" Mega said.

"Mega! What's up?"

Jack sarcastically said, "Oh, Omega- Xis! It's been forever since I last talked to you!"

"Oh, shut up, Jack!"

Jack stuck out his tongue at the AM-ian.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Geo, I feel a Noise level rising nearby."

"Really? Where exactly?"

"I thinks it's somewhere near the school lobby."

"That's great! It's not far then!"

"I should give you a warning, though. It's really high over in that area. So I bet that's where that Bryan jerk is."

"Um... I would correct you about the name but... He's a real jerk! Let's go get him!"

Omega- Xis and Jack nodded. Jack and I ran up to the school lobby, while Omega-Xis hopped back into my Hunter-VGX for the ride.

* * *

When we arrived at the lobby, it looked pretty much the same. The school board of events is still intact. The bronze statue of the Greek god, Atlas, is still holding up the Earth. The walls are still orange and white. The floors are still hardwood. Yup, nothing seems to be unusual here.

I pulled out my Hunter- VGX and summoned Omega-Xis again.

"I don't see anything funny here."

"Yep, seems bland as ever."

"Really? I swore it was right here just a second ago." Omega- Xis said, holding his metal chin in his hand.

"Then, where did it go?" Jack and I asked.

Buzz! Buzz!- Out of nowhere, we heard a iffy buzzing noise coming from behind us. We walked over to the source: the school bulletin board. Nothing seemed wrong with it. But why would it suddenly start making a buzzing noise?

"Hey, Mega. Can you check this out?"

He floated on over and started to examine the board. He looked at it up and down, left to right, corner to corner. Finally his red eyes opened up a little in shock as if he found something. He pointed at a poster. It was a poster for the science club, the club I was in. The poster had a picture of the president, Woody, and I, the vice president, building a molecule model. I was dropping a couple of parts in the picture while Woody looked at me with a tad worried.

"Hahahahaha! You look so dorky! This really made my day!" Omega- Xis said.

"What the heck, Omega- Xis! I thought you were looking for a Noise frequency!"

Jack started to chuckle at my picture.

"Ah c'mon, Jack! I thought you were on my side!"

"Sorry, Star Boy! You really do look like a nerd in this picture!"

Fine, they may laugh at me now. But I know they will cower in fear the day nerds take over the world.

"Anyway, I actually did found something Noise-related with the poster."

"Really?" Jack and I said.

I put down my Visualizer onto my eyes to look at the sign again. I now noticed that the back of it was glowing a dark purple aura.

"Yeah, I see it now!"

Jack tore the poster down. I looked and saw a black gash in the poster board.

"It's that black hole thingy again!"

"It seems that its an entrance to the Unknown." Omega- Xis said.

"Geo! EM Wave Change! We're going in there! They are probably there!" Jack said.

"Right!"

Jack held his hands out in his arms.

"Transcode! No. 323! Jack Eos! On- Air!"

Jack's necklace shined bright as the Sun. A dark purple light fell onto him. When it disappeared, he was in his EM Wave form, Jack Corvus.

When Jack was done with his EM Wave Change, I decided to do mine.

"Omega- Xis, let's roll!"

"Aw yeah! It's finally time to get buck wild!"

I held up my Hunter- VGX and said my ever-so famous EM Wave Change.

"Transcode! No. 003! Mega Man! On-Air!"

I EM Wave changed into Mega Man.

When Omega-Xis and I were ready, I nodded at Jack. Jack nodded back as well. Jack touched the black gash and suddenly both of us were sucked in.

* * *

When we opened our eyes again, we were surrounded by black. It seems we made it to the Unknown with no problems.

"So this is the Unknown..." Jack said, as he looked around.

"You know about it?"

"Yep!"

"How?"

"Stealing more of the blue-haired troll's work files."

I hit my head with my hand in disbelief. "You do this often, don't you?"

"Of course. I could call it a hobby of mine."

"I will pray for you and your 'hobby' tonight."

After our short conversation, we began to look around. After about 5 minutes passed, we knew something was kinda off.

"We been here forever now without a surrounding change. Is this a trap or something?"

"I don't know. This is all too weird."

Suddenly a white light appeared within the pitch black area. What appeared from this light was Crystal's Wizard, Stella.

"Hiya, Geo! Hiya, Meggie!" Stella said, as perky as ever.

"Did you just call me 'Meggie'?" Omega- Xis said from my arm.

"Yep, Meggie!" Stella replied, happily.

"Call me 'Meggie' one more time or I'll skin you alive!" Omega- Xis said, angrily.

Stella stuck her tongue out and called Omega- Xis a 'party pooper'.

"Whatever! Anyway, Crystal sent me to tell you information about your next oppo-... Wait? Why's there a crow here with you, Geo?" Stella said before she noticed Jack in his crow-like costume.

"What? I'm not a crow!" Jack replied, furiously.

"AHH! The crow can talk!"

"I-AM-NOT-A-CROW-DARN-IT!"

"Really?"

"YES! I'm pretty positive about that!"

"Are you sure?"

"Why you little-!"

He tried to grab Stella's neck but his hand went right through her. Jack, Omega-Xis, and I were shocked by this. Normally, in our EM Wave forms, we have the ability to physically touch the usually invisible electromagnetic wave beings, such as Stella. In this case, though, we couldn't. I would figure this might have happened, since Stella is a unusual shaped EM Wave Being but... How is this possible? Just what is Stella?

"Hey! That was mean, you meanie!"

"Ah- My name isn't meanie! My name is Jack!" Jack replied, "And how did you just do that?"

"What do you mean by 'that'?"

"I mean the thing with my hand going through your body!"

"OHH! What? Is that weird or something? I thought all EM Wave Beings could do that too."

"No, they can't!" Omega- Xis said, reconfirming Stella's odd trick.

"Really? Then that means... I'M SOOOOO COOL!"

Everyone face-palmed themselves after watching Stella start prancing around, thinking she was so cool. After she was done, she went back to being serious.

"Anyway, I'm Crystal's Wizard, Stella. Crystal sent me to find you guys before I transport you to where Crystal and Ryan are. She told me to tell you all some background information on Orion."

"Orion..." Omega-Xis muttered.

"Huh?" I asked.

Everyone looked at my arm to see Omega- Xis looked like he was thinking.

"I think I've heard the name before..."

"Really?"

"Orion? We used to be old friends! Just like me and Omega- Xis!" A wicked voice said suddenly.

Stella and I started to look around, hoping to find the source of the voice. Suddenly, Jack clicked the blue crystal on his chest and an image of Corvus came out. Corvus is an orange EM Wave Being with gray armor and bird-like features. Stella screamed and hid behind me when she saw Corvus.

"What the- why did you scream?"

"Because you're really creepy!"

"Hahahahaha! Scary! This notorious criminal aura really never goes away!"

Corvus is one of Planet FM's most wanted criminals. He was Jack's Wizard when Dealer made their debut. Corvus wanted to destroy the earth using Meteor G's powers. When Jack and Tia were talked out of revenge, by me of course, he tried to kill Jack. That didn't turn out very well, as the two were sent to the king of the FM-ians, Cepheus, for punishment. Instead of the ordinary execution, Cepheus decided to spare the two and give them the punishment of becoming the personal Wizards of Jack and Tia for the remainder of the two siblings' lives. Corvus wasn't really happy about this. He and Virgo would rather die rather than serve "pitiful humans". Somehow, though, Jack and Corvus were able to make a very good bond between each other as time flew by. They're both quite mischievous and Corvus actually helps devise some plans for Jack's everyday bad boy things. He's not a good influence on Jack, but hey he's pretty useful.

"Yeah, Orion and I were teammates for a while on Planet FM. Man, we were unstoppable. Me with my love of mischief and him with his love of hunting. We literally wrecked havoc on a daily basis! From all that running from the police and 'deleting', I could say we became friends, you humans call it! One day, though, he suddenly left without saying goodbye. Haven't seen him ever since. Now, I really want to beat him up for not giving me an explanation."

"Well, that gives most of the background info that I was supposed to tell you. Orion left Planet FM to go to the Star Hunters. Currently, he is one of its strongest members; Only third to the leader of the Star Hunters and his right hand man. That's all I know, because whoever fought him never returned to tell their story..."

Well, that's scary.

"Thanks for the tips, Stella!"

"You're welcome! Now, I'm gonna transport you guys!"

Stella put her hands together and a small ball of light appeared. She raised her hands up and we were all surrounded by white.

* * *

When all the white disappeared, we were in a new area. This area was an colosseum that resembles the world-famous one in Rome. The only thing that was weird was that the sky isn't blue. The sky was purplish black and the sun and clouds were bright red. Another weird thing I noticed was that the colosseum's seats were empty. It would just be me and Omega-Xis, Jack and Corvus, Ryan and Orion, and Crystal and Stella. As we walked in a little further, I found Crystal sitting on the ground.

"Crystal!"

She turned around and looked surprised and she frantically moved her hands around as if she was signaling us to go away. Why would she want to le-

Suddenly, a red figure came falling out of the sky into the area right in front of me. When the smoke disappeared from its fall, the figure was revealed to be Ryan.

"Ryan!"

"Hey, Geo. Ready to get your butt kicked?"

Arrogant much.

"No! But I'm ready to defeat you and rescue Crystal!"

"Hahaha! Do you really think you can defeat me? If I can turn you to dust in my human form, what do you think I can do in my EM Wave form?! You're crazy! With one of the most powerful Star Hunters as my Wizard, there is no way you can beat me! Isn't that right, Orion?"

He showed us his ax and an EM Wave Being came out of it. The being was dark red with black and dark orange armor. On its breastplate was the symbol of a sword. The cocky look he gave us reminded me too much of Ryan. Suddenly, the cockiness went away when he looked at my right arm.

"Omega-Xis? Is that you?"

"Darn it! It really is that Orion!" Omega- Xis sounded disgusted.

"Hahaha! Well, would cha look at that! It's my old friend from Planet FM! I can't believe how time flies. One day I'm beating you up for laughs, the next I'm going in for the kill. Crazy, huh?"

Omega- Xis growled at Orion. I have always noticed that the bringing up of his past has always made my long time extraterrestrial friend frustrated. It seems to be worse this time because Corvus and Orion are here.

"Ooo, nasty. Since when did you start growlin' at one of your friends-"

"Friends?! You deleted my partners and nearly killed me for some sick kind of entertainment!

"Entertainment?! It's life!"

"Life?! Why you little-!"

Omega- Xis tried to lunge at Orion, with him still being my arm. I tried to stop him but he was dragging me too hard. Jack grabbed me and tried to help my arm from being torn off by Omega- Xis.

"Omega-Xis, STOP!"

Omega- Xis growled again before he stopped. Orion went back into the ax. Omega- Xis looked up at me seriously.

"Geo, it's either you stop Ryan or I'll do it myself."

"I would rather go with me stopping Ryan."

I turned to Jack. "Jack, go get Crystal. I'll fight Ryan."

"Okay, but I'm only dropping her off. I'm definitely coming back!" Jack said with a mischievous smile.

"Why?"

"Duh, to finish my fight with him!"

"Are you two idiots? No one is leaving here until this fight is done!"

Ryan snapped his fingers together, and suddenly, a ring of fire surrounded Crystal, keeping her from escaping.

"Crystal!"

"I'll be alright, Geo! Besides, I wouldn't be able to walk out of here and leave anyway."

Curious, I took a better look at Crystal's ankles and noticed that her left one was chained down to the floor. So that's what she meant.

But wait... An area with fire surrounding it has less oxygen. That means that Crystal won't be able to breathe after a couple of minutes. And she can't get out of the fire because she's chained down. Put two and two together and that means that...

"Now go and finish Ryan!"

I nodded my head at Crystal and turned over to look at Jack.

"We need to make this quick. Crystal might suffocate!"

Jack nodded back and took out a playing card. I looked at it and it was his lucky card, the Joker, once again.

"Fine with me. As long as we get to finish our fight!"

The card suddenly ignited into purple flames. Jack looked as crazy as ever.

Oh Jack... I hope you don't do something stupid...

"Whatever. Forget the original idea. Let's just finish this fast."

"I agree."

Jack and I looked at Ryan.

"Let's go, Mega Man and Jack Corvus!"

And that is when the fight started. I zoomed a little bit back from Ryan and Jack flew up in the air. Jack threw three cards into the air. The cards combusted into purple fireballs.

"Grave Claw!"

The fireballs turned into claws and started to zoom at Ryan. Ryan just stood there, waiting to get hit. I stopped for a second to watch what was going to happen. Is Ryan going to do anything? Is he really going to allow himself to get hurt? The claws landed at their target and the area that surrounded Ryan was shrouded with a cloud of dust and residual flames.

This... This can't be it, right? Ryan wouldn't allow himself to be defeated this easily.

When the fire and dust disappeared, Ryan was seen, without a scratch on him.

"What the- How is this possible?"

Ryan pointed his thumb at his breastplate proudly. "My bodysuit is made out of a certain fiber that negates any electromagnetic attacks from me! Pretty sweet, right? See, this is what I meant by invincible! Hahaha!"

Jack and I looked at each other. Oh we are in a heck of a fight now.

"So just give up now, idiots, before I change my mind!"

I gritted my teeth while Jack slowly landed back onto the could Jack be thinking right now?

Suddenly I heard a devilish cackle. It was from Jack. Jack was laughing so much that he had to hold his stomach. Ryan and I both looked baffled. Suddenly, Jack stopped laughing and looked up at Ryan.

"So what that you have fancy-spansy armor! That still doesn't mean our attacks won't hurt."

"What, are you actually trying to defy the powers of my EM Wave form, Orion Hunter?" Wow, Ryan is pretty arrogant right now.

"Yeah! That's exactly what I'm saying!"

Jack left Ryan completely speechless. He turned to me, flashing that ever-so familiar devilish smirk.

"Let's give him what he deserves, Geo!"

"Oh yeah, I've been waiting for you to say that for a while now!" I cracked my knuckles and neck.

Jack looked a little surprised at my display of toughness but quickly returned back to his original state. What? I can't be tough for once.

He flew up in the air. "Geo, take over, alright?"

"Alright?"

I threw up a battle card above me. "Predation! Wide Sword!"

The arm Omega- Xis occupies turned into a sword. I started to run toward Ryan, ready to slice him. Ryan's ax suddenly changed into a big sword. I was a little surprised by this, but I still kept at my advance. Our swords clashed, sending a loud striking sound throughout the arena.

"Your weapon changes into a sword?"

"Yep. And plenty more. Of course, though, you won't be able to see all of the changes since I have to 'delete' you!"

I had a chance to look into Ryan's eyes, which were turning into a faint red. I guess Ryan's getting a little frustrated by me and Jack. Suddenly, I realized that while looking into his eyes, Ryan started to take the upper hand in our struggle. When he almost broke my sword, I zapped away and tried to slice him from above. Ryan blocked my attack. We continued to slicing at each other for the next couple of minutes.

I was so concentrated into my fight with Ryan that I hadn't noticed that Jack started to get bored. Jack was still above us, watching over us like a guardian angel watching a human. At this point, he had his hands on his chin, showing how bored he was getting. He finally put his hands out of his face.

"Are you guys going to just hit each other with swords or am I going to finally get in on some of the action?"

Realizing that Jack wanted to join in, I zapped away.

Jack had descended down again to the land next to where I zapped to. We slapped our hands together, as if we were tagging in and out. We spoke quickly in hushed tones.

"Geo, try to get Crystal out while I fight that idiot over there!"

I nodded. I zapped away while Jack took up into the sky. Ryan looked up at Jack, still full of arrogance.

"Let's settle our fight from earlier!"

"Yes. Let's!" Ryan grinned evilly.

When their fight started, I was next to where Crystal was. Crystal saw me through the fire and was a little surprised.

"Geo?"

"Yeah, it's me. I'm gonna get you out of here. Now I just have to figure out how to put out this fire..."

As I started to figure out how to break Crystal out of there, Jack and Ryan were already going at it.

"Corvus Wing!"

He began trying to rapidly slice at Ryan with his wings. Ryan dodged all of his advances with ease.

When Jack realized his attacks were useless, he flew back a little and threw two playing cards at Ryan and commenced his Grave Claw attack. The purple flame claws came after Ryan but were quickly cut apart by his recently-switched ax.

Ryan jumped over Jack with his ax in ready-position.

"Warrior Smash!"

Jack flew away just before Ryan's ax could have smashed him into the ground. Ryan picked up his ax and started charging after Jack again. Jack ascended into the sky then flew straight at Ryan like a bullet.

"Crow's Flight!"

Jack actually was able to hit Ryan. Ryan fell onto his back. Jack came around again for another Crow's Flight. This time he grabbed Ryan and threw up in the air. Jack flipped in the air and kicked Ryan right in the gut, sending him flying back into the ground. Jack continued to float in the air above Ryan. Ryan got up, still without a scratch but was worn out a little by the attacks. Oh yeah, Jack is finally winning!

"Is that all you got?"

"Oh no. What I'm about to do will finally shut you up!"

Jack pulled out five cards- a 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. He threw the five cards at Ryan. Ryan closed his eyes and was surprised the cards didn't hit him. What Ryan hadn't noticed was the cards actually landed in a circle that surrounded him. Suddenly the cards started to flash, like a timer. Jack pulled out his beloved Joker card. He kissed it and it combusted into purple flames.

Jack looked down as if he were a madman.

"With this card, I say goodbye. Farewell. Sweet dreams!"

He threw down his card to land in the center of the circle that the five cards created. That's when Ryan noticed the trap Jack had laid, and he was in the middle of it. Ryan had no time to run out of it.

"Royal Flush!"

Jack flashed his famous smirk and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the Joker card send its flames to the other five cards. The flames then rose into a pillar of purple fire, engulfing Ryan in it. Jack just stood there in the air, arms crossed.

"That was awesome, Jack!" I shouted, happily.

Omega-Xis even said, "That's pretty cool."

Jack started to turn towards me until he suddenly touched his side as if something popped inside of him. He quickly held his side to try to press down the pain. Wait. Wasn't that the side that Jack was holding earlier after the first fight with Ryan? Oh no. I hope that something didn't break inside him.

"Yay! Go Jack!" Crystal cheered.

Jack turned around to us and smiled.

"Oh, I don't need your praise. I just wanted to see that fat head burn in-"

"Paris' Betrayal!"

Before Jack could finish his sentence, a spray of arrows came flying toward my crow friend. Jack wasn't able to dodge it. He was hit by two arrows- one in his shoulder and one in the side he was holding. Suddenly, Ryan came zooming out of the fire. Ryan kicked Jack right in the side where the arrow hit him, causing agonizing pain to Jack. Jack went flying into one of the seating areas of the stone arena. After getting hit, he made an attempt to slowly get back up.

"Geo... kick his butt... for me..."

He fell backwards and landed onto the hard stones. He transformed back into his human form.

"JACK!"

I quickly zoomed over to where Jack was. I tried to shake him awake but he was out cold. I looked at Jack's bruised body and where he was hit by the arrows was starting to bleed through his shirt. Crap, Jack is in danger too now!

Suddenly, I heard wicked laughter. It was coming from Ryan. I got back up to look at Ryan.

"Hahaha! Man, he acted so tough! Now look where he is! Hahaha! That kid is nothing but a sissy- Huh?"

I was now in front of Ryan. I grabbed Ryan's shoulder.

"Well... AT LEAST JACK ISN'T A COWARD!"

I somehow threw Ryan into the center of the arena. I zoomed in front of Ryan again.

I began to remember how Ryan has brought pain to all of my dear friends. Luna was injured. Bud's heart broke. Pat was nearly killed. Crystal is suffocating in the fire. Now Jack has joined them, as he laid unconscious on the ground. As you all know, I rarely get angry. I am not the type of person who gets angry. But right now... I giving this situation an exception.

"THAT'S IT! YOU'VE NOW OFFICIALLY PISSED ME OFF!"

I gave him the scariest glare I could come up with. Ryan looked a little surprised, seeing how such a small person like myself can have such a big voice. I picked Ryan up and threw him over to the other side of the stadium. I zapped over to where Ryan was set to land. I suddenly punched him right in the face.

"This is for Luna!"

I punched him in the stomach. Ryan coughed from the pain.

"This is for Bud!"

I kicked Ryan in his chest to send him flying to the other side. I came right after him, readying a powerful punch.

"This is for Pat!"

I punched him in the face, cracking his visor. My punch sent Ryan flying up into the air. I came after him again, jumping high up into the air.

"This is for Crystal!"

I smacked him flying to the center of the colosseum.

"This is for Jack!"

I punched in him one last time. Then I jumped a little higher in the air and powered up my arm for a big attack.

"And finally, this is for calling me a wuss! Mega Drive!"

I punched Ryan right in the crystal that was on his chest. The crystal broke and Ryan was sent plummeting to the ground. Ryan crash-landed into the ground, causing a crater to form. I landed back on my feet after the air fighting I did. I looked inside the dust-shrouded crater to see if Ryan was down. When the dust disappeared, I could see Ryan lying on the ground, motionless.

"Dang, Geo. You really went hard this time. It seems he's down for the count."

"Yep. Now let's go get Crystal. The fire should be gone now that Ryan is done for."

I turned around and the fire around Crystal was still as fiery as ever.

"What the... Why isn't the fire gone?"

"Geo, watch out!"

"Huh, what do you mean-"

I felt something tap my shoulder. I turned slightly and saw it was Ryan. He seemed different, though. I gave Ryan a good look through his now broken visor and saw that his eyes weren't maroon or red: his eyes were a bright orange. What the...

"Oh, Mega Man, you made a big mistake back there."

Ryan's accent was completely different, more of a Southern one.

This definitely isn't Ryan. It's like he's another person... Wait... I began to think about it. When I fought Aquarius and Haley, I remember that Aquarius possessed Haley's body to fight. Could this mean that Ryan is also being possessed?

"Remember that pretty blue crystal you saw on my breastplate? Yeah, that was a seal to keep me from getting too 'excited' and possessing Ryan. Now that you broke said crystal, I finally get to hunt my prey!"

Ryan started to pull out his ax and got ready to fight again.

"Wait! Geo, that's Orion! You need to run! He's way too powerful for you!"

"You didn't have to say that twice!"

Ryan, or should I say Orion, jumped up in the air and tried to do a Warrior Smash on me. I quickly avoided it. As I was zapping away, I noticed the crater created by the attack is much bigger and the flames were hotter. So this is what Omega-Xis meant...

Orion continued to try to smash me with his ax, and I kept on avoiding the attacks. This went on for a couple of minutes until I realized that I forgotten about Crystal. I turned slightly during one of my jumps and noticed that Crystal wasn't sitting up anymore. Crystal seems to have fainted. This fight has to end now! But how?

As I landed again, I tried to think while jumping in the air. Okay, let's see... how can I stop this fight? Hmm... Orion is currently possessing Ryan, meaning Ryan has no control over his body. So... the best solution is to make Ryan regain control. Perfect! Now to figure how to do that... When I fought Aquarius, Crystal used that "Calming Presence" crap and she saw into Haley's memories. Haley finally realized what she was doing was wrong when Crystal mentioned someone from her past. I believe it was her father. So... I have to mention something from Ryan's past to wake him up! But who or what can I mention? I know nothing about Ryan except for- That's it! Now I know what to do!

"Predation! Long Sword!"

My arm turned into a long sword. Orion's ax switched into a sword also. We came at each other and our swords clashed. While we were struggling, I decided to initiate my plan.

"Ryan, can you hear me?"

Orion responded by trying to push me down.

"Nope, it's just your good old buddy, Orion, here!"

Orion seemed nervous. I see.

"Ryan, I know you can hear me!"

"Are you talking to yourself, kiddo?"

"Ryan, Orion has tricked you! He's using you just to get Crystal!"

"Would you shut up?"

"Ryan, he's using you only because you're intimidating and strong and scary! I hate to say this, but I know you're a good person deep down inside! You're not a bad person at heart!"

"That's it, kid! If you don't shut it-"

"Ryan! What would Layla say if she saw you doing this?"

Suddenly, Orion's body stopped struggling with me. I quickly swatted him away and I backed away from him. Orion touched his head as he was in pain. Suddenly, he stopped moving. Did... Did I do it? I hope I did.

Out of nowhere, Orion disappeared to end up right behind me. I felt myself being thrown up in the air. Oh no... I have a feeling that my plan didn't work. Orion came zooming after me. Suddenly, I felt myself being hit repeatedly and painfully several times by a sword. As I was flying in the air, I looked at the weird sky above me. I was looking at the red sun until Orion blocked my view. His sword was on fire, and his now visible eyes were blood red.

"Achilles' Wrath!"

He hit me with the sword and forced me plummeting to the ground below. I crashed on the ground, creating a huge crater in the ground and smoke from the fire. I laid on the ground, utterly defeated and covered with injuries. I couldn't get back up at all. I tried to but it seems that my body is too weak too. Am I defeated?

Orion walked over to where my body was, standing over me. He put his sword right in my face.

"It seems I get my prey as usual. It was fun until the end. Have fun on the other side, kid!"

I closed my eyes, waiting for my bloody demise to occur.

It didn't happen.

What's going on?

Suddenly, I felt something cold fall on my face. I opened my eyes. It's snowing.

What the heck?


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9- Achilles' Heel

I couldn't believe it - It was snowing right now. Where is it coming from? This stadium should be hot as Hades. Also, it would be a disadvantage for a fire user to make snow. Water puts out fire, right? Then it couldn't be from Orion or Jack, since they both use fire. Then...

Wait... Could it be that...

I looked over to where Crystal was. The fire around her was gone, allowing to me to finally see her fully. I could tell all the way from over here- something was off about her. Where did the chain around her ankle go? Why did she give off this aura of anger?

The answers to these questions were about to be answered. Crystal closed her eyes and took a deep breath. And then she began to sing.

_The falling snow are pieces of the stars;_

_let's stretch towards the heavens and catch them in our hands_

_Can't you feel all of our wishes for each other being made?_

_But everything is now part of a Monochrome..._

Suddenly, Ryan started screaming, as if he was in agonizing pain. He fell to the ground, unable to stand while feeling the pain being inflicted on him.

While he was in his state, I started to feel a little better. I looked over at my hand. I started to move it in an attempt to see if it was painful to move. I didn't feel any pain. So, I tried to pull myself up off the ground. I somehow but slowly and painfully got back on my two feet. But as Crystal sung, I started to feel even better.

_The white breath I gently breathed out is shaped like the words I wanted to convey_

_Without a doubt, with just a tiny a bit of warmth;_

_I'm sure the sky we always look up at will brighten again_

As Crystal neared the next part of her song, I looked over and noticed that Jack was starting to get up.

"Jack!"

I ran over to him. When I got over there, I realized that the pain I experienced earlier was gone. I looked at my cuts and I noticed that they magically disappeared. When Jack was sitting up, I came over and supported his back.

"You okay?"

"Not really. I mean I'm in a whole lot of pain, but this song... It seems to be... healing me..."

Jack looked at his shoulder and side and realized that the holes that the arrows left in his skin were gone.

"Wait. Geo, let go of me."

I let go of him. Suddenly, Jack got right off the ground as if nothing happened to him.

"What the?"

"I think the song Crystal is singing is healing us."

"And it's hurting Ryan."

Jack and I looked over at Ryan, who was still on the ground in pain.

"What the- What is this?" Ryan said, still in Orion's horrid accent.

I looked over at Crystal again. The chain around her ankle disappeared into purple sparkles.

_When we fold our sorrow-soaked wings over each other,_

_they will turn into a snow white purity_

_and become our courage to fly towards our own destinies._

Crystal was dancing- slowly spinning around and walking gracefully. She must be completely concentrated on singing. As I observed, I realized that Crystal really did look like an angel- an angel that descended down from heaven to save the world from agony.

_My heart is beating with new- found excitement for the dawn of a new world,_

_taking my light with me on a new journey, now a new "tomorrow" will begin for me_

Crystal stopped dancing and started to walk towards Ryan, still singing and walking with pure grace.

_The falling snow are pieces of the stars;_

_let's stretch towards the heavens and catch them in our hands_

_Can't you feel all of our wishes for each other being made?_

_But everything is still part of a Monochrome..._

She stopped singing but she still was walking towards Orion, who was still in agony on the ground. Crystal opened her eyes to reveal her Star Guardian ruby eyes.

"The Will of the Stars have guided me to give you judgment. Orion, of Planet FM and of the Star Hunters, for hurting countless innocents and holding the tortured soul of Ryan Achils prisoner, I will now give you a punishment for your malicious desire for hunting."

"You- You have the power of the Star Mas-"

"Silence!"

I shivered. That shout shook my entire being. This talk of punishment was starting to scare me. What was Crystal going to do to Orion? I looked over at Jack and he looked a little nervous as well. This is unlike Crystal to something like this. What's going on?

"May your desires swallow you whole and imprison your soul for all of eternity."

Suddenly, Ryan tried to back away, seeing as Crystal was very serious of what she was about to do. Crystal raised her hand and it started to glow gold.

"Will of the Stars!"

She suddenly hit Ryan's forehead with her palm. The noise stopped. The snow stopped. My heart beat even stopped. Ryan fell to the ground.

When Jack and I realized what happened, we immediately ran over to where the two were. I quickly tried to shake Ryan awake.

"Ryan! Ryan! Can you hear me?" I shouted.

Jack turned to Crystal and shouted, "What did you do to him?"

Crystal suddenly touched her forehead and her eyes turned purple. She blinked her eyes a little bit and came back to the world we were in. Crystal looked down at Ryan surprisingly calm about seeing him on the ground.

"He's going to be alright. I must've connected with the Star Network by accident."

"The what?" Jack and I both said.

Stella appeared and she continued for Crystal, "Yeah, you see... How do I explain this... Well... Geo, remember the attack that Crystal and I were talking a while back and you wanted to find out on your own what it was. Well, that was it."

"What was it?"

"The singing. And dancing. And snowing. And knocking the crap out of people with her palms. Yeah, that's called 'The Will of the Stars'. It is an attack where Crystal calls upon the Star Network to overtake her body and handle a situation through her. Sounds pretty crazy, I know-"

"You got that right, sister." Jack said.

"Yeah. But usually the Star Network isn't this violent. In a situation like this, the Star Network would probably try to just kick Orion out of Ryan's body. In this situation, though, it not only forced Orion out of his body, but it also transported Orion into the depths of the Unknown to spend the rest of his days in darkness."

"All of I have to say is that is... WICKED!" Jack said, thinking how cool it was.

"I know, right?"

"I think this is the only thing we can agree about!"

"You said it, Mr. Crow!"

"For the last time, I'M-NOT-A-CROW!"

Stella giggled. Jack growled. Yep. Just another day for Mega Man.

The world suddenly changed back into our world- the human world. We were all back in front of the school lobby.

Everyone was back in their normal human forms as well. As soon as we came back, Crystal fainted. Jack caught her just in time.

"What happened?"

"Whenever Crystal uses Will of the Stars, she gets very tired. In fact, I'm surprised she lasted that long. All she needs is some rest and lots of cake and she'll be up and at it again in no time."

I gave a weird look at Stella's commenting on Crystal's odd eating habits. I completely forgot that Crystal is a sugar freak.

"So I guess we're back. But... what the?"

The normally empty school lobby was full of Satella Police commandos. The lobby looked like a scene of a crime.

Someone saw us and yelled our first names and that were located. Ace came out of the room and saw all four of us. Ace looked a little surprised, seeing Crystal unconscious and Jack holding her. Ace immediately did a karate chop on Jack. And Jack immediately got ticked off.

"What the- What are you doing here, troll?"

"I should be asking you the same thing!"

"Duh, I helped out Geo defeat the Star Hunter- Ah crap

Ace looked immediately shellshocked that Jack mentioned a Star Hunter. Not because one appeared I bet. I believe it's because Jack mentioned a Star Hunter, meaning he knew about Project Pleiades, a project that Jack was never supposed to know about.

"How do you know?

"Duh, I stole the files from your safe at home- I mean Geo told me!"

"You filthy liar!"

"WHAT? You broke into my safe? If you did, then what is the password?"

"MEGAATJC4"

"HUH? HOW DID YOU KNOW?"

"Easy. The MEGA is for your favorite snack, which I personally think tastes like a dog turd, Mega Snacks. ATJC is the initials of everyone- Furry troll, Tia, Jack, and Carrie. The 4 stands for the four of us. Can't be easier to hack than anything in the world."

Ace was fuming with anger. Not only did Jack break into his safe, steal very important files, and read it but he also dissed the Mega Snacks. And no one disses the Mega Snacks.

"You! After you drop Crystal off in the medical room we set up on the second floor, we're having a little talk."

"Yeah, yeah, blue toad."

Jack started to walk off until he realized that he was ditching me.

"Geo, why are you standing there? Let's go."

"Umm. Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What could it be?"

I pointed my finger down and Jack followed my finger to find Ryan still unconscious.

"Yeah, that's your problem. I ain't carrying him." Jack said before dashing off with Crystal.

Great... Now I got to lift this giant. I made an attempt but he was too heavy. I tried again and that didn't work out. After twenty attempts, I gave up and ended up having to drag Ryan by his ankles to the medical room. All of the officers were staring at me as I dragged Ryan down the hall to the elevator. What? A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

* * *

When we got to our destination I wasn't surprised where we ended up- the nurse's office.

The nurse's office at my school is usually empty since the students don't regularly get sick. Still, it looked like a hospital room when I got there. There are four beds- two to the left and two to the right (just in case a student passes out or something). In the end of the room is a desk. To the right of the desk was a storage closet to hold students' medical records. To the left was a huge bookcase. The middle of the bookcase held medical supplies while the very top held books.

When we got in there, Bud, Pat, Luna, Crystal, and Jack were already. Luna and Crystal were asleep on the beds to the right of the room. Bud, Pat and Jack were sitting on the beds to the left. When I came, Pat immediately ran over to me and gave me a bone-crushing hug, not knowing that he was also stepping on Ryan.

"Geo! Are you okay?"

"P-Pat! My body! And also, you're stepping on him!"

"Him? Who?"

Pat looked down and finally noticed that he was stepping on top of Ryan. He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care.

"He deserves it for putting us through heck today!"

"True... Now let me-"

Pat suddenly let go of me and touched his shoulder in pain.

"Pat? Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I kind of pulled a muscle in my shoulder when I fought Ryan. I'm alright though. Mrs. Tia told me it should heal before summer break begins. Besides that and a couple of bruises and cuts, I'll be fine. But everyone has it worse than me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

He walked slowly over to where Luna was. Luna was still asleep from earlier. I look at one of Luna's arms and noticed that it was all bandaged up.

"Luna broke her arm when Ryan dropped her on the first floor."

I gasped. I looked over at Bud, who was closing his eyes in agony for Luna.

Pat walked over to where Crystal was. He looked at her sleeping face then he looked away.

"Now Crystal is... What happened to her, Geo?"

I tried to respond in a way that I would avoid saying things about Crystal's powers or really why the Satella police were probably here.

"My guess is that she became really frightened by Ryan and she passed out from her fears."

"Oh..."

Pat looked away. I tried to look at his face from under his bangs and he looked very angry. Did I do something wrong? I better change the subject.

"You mentioned Mrs. Tia, right? Is she the person who's assisting with the medical room?"

"Yep! This is the first time I met her. She's Jack's older sister, right? She's so cool and nice-"

THUD!- Pat was about to continue until a loud noise was made. We turned around and found out that the noise came from Mrs. Tia. She had tripped over Ryan. Everyone except for Jack looked a tad freaked out. Tia lifted herself up. Jack ran over to help out his sister. When she was back on her feet, I swore I could see the fire and demons from hell surrounding Mrs. Tia. Pat and I became scared on the spot.

"Who... Who left this person on the floor?..."

Pat quickly pointed at me. I quickly grabbed his finger, trying to hide the truth from Mrs. Tia. Why didn't I put Ryan on a bed, I don't know. I wish I did now.

"Fine. I admit it. It was me."

Mrs. Tia then calmed down after hearing me confess.

"This is your second strike, Geo."

"I know, I know."

If you're wondering what the first strike was, then I'll make it short. I kinda sort of... dropped Carrie when she was a baby. I know what you all must be thinking now- I'm a heartless person. That's not true though! It's just that Carrie was fidgeting and she kinda fell out of my hands. And yes, I know, all babies do that. It's just I'm not good with babies. This is yet another reason why I hope I don't have kids!

"Anyway, Bud, lift this person on the bed. You too, Geo, since you left him on the floor."

"Yes, ma'am!"

We hoisted Ryan onto the bed Mrs. Tia told us to put him on. She started to examine Ryan, pulling out a stethoscope.

I never mentioned it but is the head of the medical department in the Satella Police. Awesome, right? She's the one who calls the emergency services and helps with patients on-site of disasters caused by EM Wave Viruses. Wish I had a job like that!

"Who is this?"

"He's Ryan Achils, a senior here at this school."

"Okay. Does he have any family?"

Everyone except for Mrs. Tia, who was awaiting an answer, looked at each other. We have no clue about who Ryan really is. Does he have family at all? No one knew.

"We have no clue." Pat said.

"Then, I'll look in the file closet."

"I'll help you, Mrs. Tia." I said.

"Thanks."

We walked over to the closet where the files were held. Mrs. Tia opened up the top drawer and we began to look.

"Is Ryan a civilian?" She whispered.

"No. He's actually the Star Hunter we fought." I whispered back.

"Really? Not surprised. He looks fit for the job... Who was the EM Wave with him?"

"Orion. He's an FM-ian."

"I see... Gave you trouble?"

"Heck yeah!"

Mrs. Tia looked up at me with a sarcastic face. She then looked back down and pulled the file with Ryan's information in it.

"Perfect." We both said.

Mrs. Tia and I began to walk back to where everyone else was. When we got back, she began to read the file, looking over Ryan's medical history and emergency numbers. Suddenly, she looked a little surprised, an emotion that I rarely see Mrs. Tia express. Everyone who was awake walked over to where Mrs. Tia was standing.

"What's wrong?"

"There's nothing here for the family relations or phone numbers."

All of the guys in the room, including myself, looked at each other again. He has no numbers there? That's odd.

"This means that either his family is irresponsible or he..."

"Huh? Where am I?"

We all turned and looked over to find that Ryan had woken up. Everyone went over to where Ryan was. He hoisted himself up in a sitting position.

"Ryan, you are in the nurse's office of your school. You passed out earlier. How are you feeling?" Mrs. Tia said, looking at Ryan's body for any injuries.

"Fine. Just a headache." Ryan asked, still dazed.

"Okay."

Mrs. Tia showed Ryan her fingers. She put four fingers up.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Four."

She pulled out a tiny flashlight and flashed it in Ryan's eyes. After looking at his eyes, Mrs. Tia put it away.

"You should be fine. Now about your family info, there's no phone numbers listed here. Is there anyone I can call?"

"No."

"What do you mean?"

"I have no family."

Everyone looked at each other. No wonder there's no family info listed for Ryan. Ryan's an orphan. Poor guy...

"What about a guardian? Maybe an orphanage-"

"I got kicked out of the one I was in."

We were all getting shocked more and more as the conversation continued. Mrs. Tia held the sides of her nose, trying to relieve the frustration she was getting.

"How old are you, Ryan?"

"18."

"No wonder you were kicked out. You're a legal adult now."

"Actually, I've been out of the orphanage ever since I was 14. That probably doesn't matter right now anyway."

"What?" Pat asked, quite shocked by this, "Isn't it illegal to kick a minor out of an orphanage?"

Oh yeah, that's right. Pat's an orphan, too... He must completely understand Ryan's situation...

"Sure is. It's just I got into a lot of fights with the other kids. The workers couldn't take it any longer, so they just kicked me out..."

"But still..."

I looked at Pat's worried face. I'm surprised Pat is worried. He went from stepping on Ryan to showing concern for him. Life can be so crazy, right?

"I don't want to pry into your life any longer. You are free to leave when you-"

"Hold your horses. No one's leaving just yet."

We all turned to around to find Ace, Dr. Goodall, Dad, Mr. Boreal, and Mr. Dubius waiting in the room with us.

"We need to speak with everyone except..." Ace said, until he noticed Pat was there.

"You there, what's your name?" Ace asked.

"Patrick Sprigs. Oh, and hi, Mr. Stelar."

"Hi, Pat!" My father responded, happy as usual.

Ace face-palmed himself. "Umm... Okay... Yeah, Patrick, you're going to have to leave the room. However, you are not to leave this building. Understand?"

"Right, Mr. Eos!"

Pat quickly got up his stuff and left the room. Ace looked a little confused.

"Wait... I didn't tell him my name... How does he know my name?"

"You've probably met him before, Arthur. You probably just forgot who he was." Mrs. Tia said.

"But I swear that... Oh, never mind."

"Anyway, let's get on with this short meeting" Dr. Goodall said.

All of the adults in the room looked at Ryan. Ryan looked a little confused. Ace whispered to his wife something. The two went to the side for a second. Later on, the two returned. Ace walked over to where he was and pulled out a badge.

"Ryan Achils, you are under Satella Police custody. Do you understand?" Ace said, seriously.

"Huh? Well... Yeah, I do understand."

"Do you understand your rights as a person who is under our custody, kid?"

"Yeah..."

"Alright. Dr. Goodall, he's all yours."

Ace walked away and Dr. Goodall was wheeled over to where Ryan was. She looked very seriously into his eyes.

"Ryan, everyone in this room knows about your activities as a Star Hunter and what occurred today. And I have to say is that you have done something very bad." Dr. Goodall said.

"I know that."

Everyone was a little shocked. Ryan surprisingly looked very ashamed of what he did.

"However, I never meant to do something like this! Not at all! I would have never joined them if I knew this was going to happen!"

"'Them'? You don't mean the Star Hunters?"

"Yes."

"May I ask why you even joined the Star Hunters anyway."

"Orion... We made a deal. As long as I gave him the Star Guardian, I would get my part of it. As you can see, that's not going to happen now."

This seems to be a growing pattern- Young kid has traumatic event, Star Hunter promises kid to revert traumatic event, Young kid agrees, Young kid finds Star Guardian, Promise never fulfilled. Is it their objective to trick innocent people into harming others? I don't know but it's another reason why I have to beat the Star Hunters! Toying with someone's feelings is just wrong!

"Ryan, you are literally the only source Project Pleiades has about our enemy. Would you tell us about your time with the Star Hunters?"

"What do you mean, Doctor?"

"For example, any plans to take Crystal, who some of them are, etc."

"I don't know anything like that. The humans are never really involved with the Star Hunters themselves. We're just there to EM Wave Change. The humans go about their regular lives until the Hunters tell us it's time to go to work. We usually go alone for the missions since none of the Star Hunters themselves like each other."

"Really? That's odd. Any organization like that would have at least some kind of cooperation."

"There is some, but it's very mutual. It's all business in the Star Hunters. There are plenty of fights and even some 'deleting' too, according to what Orion told me. That's only with the EM Waves, though, not the humans. We rarely meet another human Star Hunter long enough to form any rivalries."

So it seems that really the EM Waves pull all of the strings while the humans are the puppets. Also the EM Waves have mutual feelings for each other. What kind of messed up organization is this?

Dad asked, "How were you asked, Ryan?"

"What do you mean... uh..."

"I'm Kelvin Stelar. Everyone calls me Kelvin, though."

"Stelar... You don't mean..."

Ryan immediately looked back and forth between me and my father.

"Yeah, he's my dad."

"Oh, that makes since."

"Anyway, I mean by my question is what caused the Star Hunters to approach you to become one of them."

Ryan sighed and lowly said, "I guess I'll have to tell you about Layla..."

"Layla?" Everyone asked.

Wait... Wasn't that the girl that Luna said that Ryan was going on about earlier? So I finally get to find out about this girl.

* * *

As some of you know already, I'm an orphan. My parents died in a fire when I was a baby. I also had no living relatives for me to stay with, so I ended up at an orphanage. Don't remember the name of it, though... In fact, I don't remember much about my time at the orphanage. All I could remember was me fighting bullies that were harassing the younger children, and said younger children being completely frightened by me, and...

_"Ow!" A child screamed._

_There was a small child with a blue clothing and hat on. There were also two bigger children wearing red, green, and orange, menacingly surrounding the younger of the three._

_"Give me your toy or else!" One of the bigger children said._

_"No! My mommy gave this to me!" The little boy said._

_"And your momma ain't here, right? So there's no point of you using it anymore."_

_"HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"_

_Everyone turned around to find a little boy version of Ryan standing there with a large tree branch in his hand. Ryan's eyes were blood red._

_"Yeah, and you're going to stop us how?"_

_Ryan hit one of the bigger children with the branch. Ryan punched the other kid in the face. Both immediately got up and ran away, screaming that Ryan was a monster._

_As the two bullies left, Ryan offered his hand for the little boy._

_"Do you need help up?"_

_"AHH! YOU'RE SCARY!"_

_The little boy got up from the ground and ran away from Ryan. Ryan watched the little one leave._

_Suddenly, Ryan dropped his stick on the ground and started to run away, crying. He ran through a forested area until he was in a field of flowers, untouched by human hands. Ryan flew to the ground and started to bawl._

_"Why can no one like me? Everyone said that being nice to others will help me make friends. I am doing that, but why is everyone still scared of me?"_

Crack, Crack, Crack-_ He looked up and saw a young girl looking at him._

Layla...

_This young girl had a striking resemblance to Crystal, except she had longer and straighter hair then her and she was around Ryan's presumed age at the time. She was wearing a long white nightgown and pink bunny slippers._

_"Why are you crying?" She asked, curious as a cat._

_"Because everyone_ -hiccup-_ is scared of_ -hiccup-_ me!"_

_"Why is everyone scared of you?"_

_"I don't know! Everyone says I'm a monster. Even some of the advisers say I have the face of a criminal!"_

_"You don't look like a monster."_

_Ryan jumped up a little. He looked at her, dumbfounded by her response._

_"You don't look something that would come out of a closet to scare me or hide under my bed waiting to eat me. You look like just like me. And I'm a person. So you must be a person too!"_

_Ryan ran up and hugged the girl in front of him,beginning to cry even harder from hearing her miraculous words._

Everyone in the orphanage was scared of me. The little kids, the big kids, even some of the adults. I personally believe the reason why is because I look intimidating. My eyes change color when I'm angry. I'm much taller and stronger than the average male. I have a scar on my face which most people automatically believe is from a fight or something, even though it's really a birthmark. I stare at people for no reason.

I've been very shy my entire life because of this. I try to open up but people run away from me.

The only person who didn't run away from me was Layla.

Layla was a girl who lived in my orphanage. I have never seen her around before so when I had met her in the forest that day, I had no idea who she was. However, I did learn she was to never leave her room. I didn't understand why... Well, until later, but I'll get to that in a sec. Anyway, because she was pretty rebellious, she just got out anyway.

The day I met Layla was the day the life I only dreamed of having started.

_"Ryan, what is this place? I've never heard that there was a field in the forest behind the orphanage before."_

_"It's my happy place. I found it one day when I was running away from all of the other kids. It's top secret, though. So don't tell anybody."_

_"Of course I won't."_

_Ryan then turned to Layla._

_"Wanna play tag?" He asked._

_"Sure!"_

_Ryan and Layla smiled and began to giggle as they began to chase each other in the field._

Layla was the first person who truly understood me. She was the first person who didn't see me as a monster. She never ran away from me or screamed in terror, well unless we were playing tag and I was "it". She was my shoulder to lean when I cried.

As the years went by, we grew from playmates to soulmates. Pretty fast for two kids, I know. But I knew even back then that there would only be one "Layla" and I loved Layla from the bottom of my heart.

_Ryan and Layla seem to have grown. Ryan and Layla looked like they were ten. The two were in Ryan's secret field, running around freely. Suddenly, Ryan stopped and Layla noticed, causing her to stop running as well._

_"Ryan, what's wrong?"_

_"... Layla... I... I wanted to give you something."_

_Ryan quickly pulled out a shark-tooth necklace from his pocket. He quickly put the necklace in Layla's hand and quickly turned away, embarrassed. Layla started to look at it, observing every inch of it._

_"This is my lucky charm. I want you to have it."_

_"This is so cool, Ryan! Thank you! How did you get such a thing?"_

_"... It was my father's..."_

_Layla suddenly looked up at Ryan, surprised by his answer. She looked down back at it, feeling guilty. She quickly held the necklace in front as if she were giving it back to Ryan._

_"I-I can't have this! It's the only thing you have left from your parents, isn't it? I simply can't have this."_

_Ryan turned around and put his hands on Layla's shoulders. He looked her in the eyes._

_"Layla, you are the first person who has ever looked at me for who I am! You are more valuable to me than this necklace. I want you to have it because I want you to be happy!"_

_"Oh Ryan..."_

_Layla continued to look at the shark-tooth in her hand until a light bulb went off in her head. She quickly put her hands behind her neck as if she were taking off a necklace. When her hands appeared again, she put a golden locket in Ryan's hands. Curious of what was inside, Ryan opened it to find a picture of Layla as a baby with her two parents. Ryan looked at it in shock. He then looked up at Layla, waiting for her response. She looked serious._

_"Ryan, if you're going to give me your lucky charm, I'll give you mine."_

_"Layla..." Ryan said, "Thank you..."_

_The two quickly hugged. They held each other for a long time, as if they were hoping that this hug would never end._

For our entire friendship, Layla never told me anything about herself. She never told me about her parents. She never told me about how she ended up in the orphanage. She also never told why she was to never step foot outdoors. If... If she had told me sooner, I think she would be here with me today.

COUGH! COUGH!-_ Ryan and Layla were playing again until Layla began to cough violently. Ryan immediately ran over to help his dear friend. Ryan began to try to rub her back, but she continued to cough._

_When she stopped coughing, Layla looked into the hand she was coughing in to find blood. Ryan looked into her hand as well, horrified by what he saw. Suddenly, Layla fell over._

_"LAYLA!"_

What Layla hadn't told me was that her parents were still alive. In fact, her parents ran the orphanage itself. Layla also didn't tell me that she was severely sick. The disease she had spreads more throughout her body as she did aggressive physical movements. For most of her life, Layla was trapped in her house. She watched all of the children outside play from her bedside window. One day, she gave up looking out of her window and wanted to see the world outside herself. She figured out an elaborate escape plan that would only give her a 5-minute window to escape. This explained why she was always in her pajamas when we played. When we played our childish games and ran freely together... I was killing my love.

_Ryan was sitting by Layla, bedridden in the hospital. Layla was connected to a IV and a heart monitor. All that was heard in the room was silence, except for the occasional beep from the heart monitor. He was holding her hand, waiting for her to wake up from her slumber._

_Suddenly, her hand squeezed his and he immediately lifted his head up at her. Layla opened her amethyst eyes and turned her head towards Ryan._

_"Ryan... Is that you?..."_

_Ryan's face lit up upon hearing Layla's weak voice. "Yes, it's me, Layla. I'm here! Your family's here, too. They stepped out for a minute, though."_

_"That's good..."_

_"Why... Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me that you could die if you played with me? Why did you run around and play hide-and-seek with me if you knew you could die doing stuff like that?"_

_Ryan began to cry, his eyes turning crimson. Layla smiled as she saw Ryan crying next to her. She slowly put her hand on his head and ran her hand through his spiky hair._

_"I couldn't take it anymore... Being in that house all day and all night... I was jealous of all the children... having the freedom to live their childhoods and play... So I decided one day that... living long without happiness is a life... not worth living and... dying young with happy memories... is a death that would be worthwhile. So I decided to put on my favorite pair of slippers and run outside..."_

_Layla turned her attention to the window by her hospital window. It was beautiful outside, not a cloud outside. She became to gaze out of it as she continued._

_"Oh, Ryan... You have no idea how happy I was... to breathe the crisp, fresh air outside... to feel the wind running through my hair...to feel the dewy grass hit my ankles... to be able to run without ever finding a wall... Yes, Ryan... That's why I did all of this..."_

_"But Layla... I... I'm going to be lonely if you were gone..."_

_"And I would be too... Ryan... For the first time in my life... I don't want to die... I don't want to be alone in heaven waiting for you! I-"_

_Layla began to cough again. The monitors next to them began to beep faster. Ryan and Layla began to hold their hands tighter._

_"Ryan... I... I think I love you..."_

_"I love you too... I love you so much..."_

_Ryan embraced Layla with his free arm._

_"Good... bye... Ryan..."_

_Suddenly, a loud continuous beep filled the room. Layla's hand lost its grip with Ryan's and it fell lifelessly on to the bed. Ryan's eyes widen in pure shock._

_Life felt like it was in slow motion. The doctors in the hospital rushed into the room. Ryan was pulled out the room by two nurses. Ryan tried to come back to Layla but they threw him out of the room. He yelled his beloved's name, hoping to revive her. The doctors began to try to revive, using a defibrillator and doing compressions._

_After many unsuccessful attempts, the doctor asked another to get a form and he looked at his watch to read the time. He told the doctor the time and everyone began to leave the room. Layla was officially dead... She was dead... She was to never walk on the earth ever again..._

_Layla's parents came back and were quickly petrified to hear their dearest and only daughter was dead. Layla's mother and father broke down into tears._

_Ryan was on the floor, silently crying._

_"I'm going to be all alone again, Layla..."_

_Ryan looked up at the ceiling, hoping his newly departed love could hear him. The light from the ceiling revealed his crying face and red eyes. His eyes were red that time, not out of anger, but out of pure sorrow._

_"I hope the fields in Heaven are pretty. So you can run in them for eternity. And someday, I'll run with you too... So please... Wait for me..."_

The day Layla died was the day my happiness died too. For the next years of my life, I would be alone again, being ridiculed by Earth's citizens. I continued to fight off bullies and help those who were innocent, even if those innocent people feared me.

To this day, I wish that Layla was back with me. I wish that Layla was never sick and we could grow up together. But she's gone...

Layla has always told me if she were to die that I could keep her locket and my shark-tooth necklace. I had to respect that wish. To this day I wear her locket and my necklace.

_Suddenly Ryan was thrown out the orphanage's doors. His luggage and an envelope of money soon followed. Ryan looked to be about 14 now. Five adults were standing in front of the door, arms crossed and angry-faced._

_"Here's enough money to keep you running. Now get out and stay out!"_

_The doors quickly closed, shutting Ryan out. Ryan stood there on the ground for five seconds. He got up and wipe his face. He grabbed his bags and picked up the envelope and began his journey to find someone to care for him._

Three years after her death, I was kicked out of the orphanage, left to try to be alone in the world. I truly felt that the world hated me. I was alone, barely able to afford to live.

That's when Orion approached me.

_A year later, Ryan was in a dark alleyway, sitting down. He held his head low._

_Suddenly, Orion appeared. Ryan, unable to see him, continued to sit on the ground. After 5 minutes, Orion spoke up._

_"You're Ryan Achils, right?"_

_Ryan was startled. He began to look around to try to find the source of this voice. When he couldn't find it, he became frightened._

_"Don't be frightened, kid. I ain't here to kill you or anythin'."_

_"Who's there? Come out, now!"_

_"I guess you can't see me now. Doesn't matter anyway; you'll be able to see me soon enough."_

_Ryan calmed down. Orion continued._

_"Anyway, Ryan, I have what you want."_

_"Food? Because if it isn't food , then go away!"_

_"No, I have something else that it far more important than food."_

_"And what could be so more important now, huh? I have no money now that those thieves robbed me. No one wants to bring me in from the street. I'm a starving kid who's freezing to death out here! What could possibly be more important than that?!"_

_"...Maybe Layla..."_

_Ryan stood stiff as a pin._

_"Ever heard about reincarnation?"_

_"Reincarnation? Yeah, but what does that have to do with Layla?"_

_"I believe the girl my organization and I are looking for is the reincarnation of your deceased friend."_

_"What? Impossi-"_

_Orion generated a picture of Crystal happily running around in a grassy field onto a display screen. Ryan looked pale as he saw the striking resemblance between Crystal and Layla._

_"This- This can't be!"_

_"It is. If you help me and my organization capture this girl pictured here, we will find a way to bring Layla's memories back into her reincarnation. After that, you may do as you please with her."_

_Ryan looked down at the ground._

He told me about something called reincarnation. He said that Layla was reincarnated as Crystal. At first, I couldn't believe it. I thought that he was crazy until he showed me a picture of Crystal. The resemblance was remarkable. If they said they were twins, I would definitely believe it. That's when I instantly decided to become a Star Hunter. If Layla's there waiting for me alive and healthy at the end of the road, then I'll do anything they'll ask.

_"Fine! Just make sure you bring back Layla to me!"_

_"Excellent."_

_Orion chuckled and helped Ryan on his way to begin searching for this so-called reincarnation of Layla._

* * *

"Until today, I truly felt that I would be able to bring back Layla. I truly felt that Layla and I would be able to run together, hand in hand, in endless fields and hills like we did as children again. But... It's obviously not happening.

I should have never trusted those stupid Star Hunters. I never wanted to hurt anyone. Never! I would never hurt anyone who's weaker than me! I just wanted... I just wanted to see Layla again!"

The room was dead silent. The story of how Ryan's past life came to light was told, everyone was utterly shocked. I'm pretty speechless myself.

From all of those rumors I heard around school, I thought that Ryan was a rough and tough person who didn't care about who he hurt. But, in fact, Ryan is the exact opposite. He's completely misunderstood to be that kind of person since he looks so scary on the outside. He's actually a extremely kind person who is always fighting for the weak.

I was the first to make noise in the room- It was from my shoes squeaking on the tile floor. Everyone was a little surprised. When I was in front of Ryan, I did something that made everyone gasp; I hugged him.

"If you want, I can be your friend."

"What..."

Ryan looked utterly shocked. I bet this was the first time someone other than Layla has hugged him.

"What are you doing-"

"I know I'll never be able to replace Layla. She's the girl you love, but... I really want to be your friend!"

Ryan looked more surprised. I looked into his eyes with an eager smile and happy eyes.

"You're nothing like a barbarian, or warrior, or monster. You're more like a knight to me."

"A knight?"

"Yeah. All of the caring your heart can give goes to others rather than yourself. You've served to protect the citizens of Earth from stronger foes no matter how much these people have feared or hated you. You're also very courageous and kind. Yep, you're definitely a knight... or something like that..."

I started to laugh. Ryan looked at me a little confused. Suddenly, he smiled. I noticed his eyes were turning red. I was a little surprised by seeing this. Maybe his eyes also change color when's he happy, not just when he's angry.

"And I definitely want a knight for a friend!"

Ryan's eyes suddenly filled with tears. He quickly hugged me back. I was a little surprised by it, but then I responded by smiling again. I heard a sniffle in the room. I turned a little. It came from Bud, Ace, and Dad. They looked like they were on the brink of tears.

"WAAAAAAHHHH!" My dad yelled, unable to hold back his tears.

He ran over to where we were and joined in our hug.

"I wanna be your friend too!"

Ryan looked surprised when he saw my father.

"Me, too, Kelvin!" Ace said.

He ran over to where we all were and joined in.

"Don't forget me, Boss!" Bud said.

Dad, Ace, and I both yelled "NOOO!"

Bud pulled all of us into a choking hug.

Dad weakly said, "A... Aaron... Help.. me!"

Mr. Boreal and Mr. Dubius began to laugh. Suddenly, everyone was laughing. Even Mrs. Tia smiled slightly, which caught Dr. Goodall's attention.

"You're smiling?"

"Yes. Yes I am, Doctor."

"I guess that means you're rather happy."

"Yes. That boy... He really needed a friend."

"He surely does... And I'm glad Geo's the one who did that"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"My own personal belief says that you can beat even the strongest of enemies, not by strength, but by kindness."

"I see. And Geo is way too kind for his own good!"

Mrs. Tia and Dr. Goodall laughed together. Finally, Bud let go of all of us.

"Thank you, Geo..."

"No problem... friend."

And that's how I defeated an enemy and gained a friend. Awesome, right? Now I can finally relax and study up for my incoming final exams. I know, though, that I shouldn't relax too much because the Star Hunters can attack any minute! I have a feeling that the Star Hunters are beginning to plan their next move.

* * *

"Well, this is just excellent..."

Somewhere in a unknown location, a meeting was starting. There were two men, both seeming to be bored to death. These two were sitting in a throne-like room with others looking on. In front of them was Aquarius, who looked very sorry about something.

"Not only did Aquarius lose against Mega Man..."

"Now one of our strongest have also been taken down."

They both said in unison and sarcastically, "This is great, just great."

"I'm sorry, Masters! If I hadn't fail-"

Suddenly a bolt of lightning came down and struck Aquarius. She screamed.

"Keep the excuses for someone else!" The two shouted in unison.

"Y-Yes... Masters..."

One of the men said to the other, "Let's just get this over with."

"It seems that since no one else is able to capture the girl, then we'll-"

"Wait!" Someone in the crowd said.

The two immediately stopped to find that a girl was the source of this voice. She and her EM Wave Partner came out of the crowd. The two men were a little surprised, but then they both smirked.

"Ah, well look who it is- It's the traitor of her own kind." One of them said, sarcastically.

"Ooo, nice name for a girl such as me." The girl said sarcastically.

"Heh, the same as always. So, you really think you two can capture the Star Guardian?"

"Why of course we do!" The EM Wave said.

"I'll easily be able to capture the Star Guardian. I am able to know everything she thinks about and what she feels because..."

The girl and the EM Wave jumped into a generic anime pose.

"We're the Starry Idol Team!"

"Oh really, I thought it was because you were a Star Guardian."

"Yeah, that too!"

"Don't worry! We'll capture the Star Guardian and defeat Project Pleiades!"

The two females zapped away into thin air. The two men huffed out some air.

"This is not going to end well..." The two said.

"We'll have to keep watch on her."

"Definitely."

"Okay then... Meeting adjourned!"


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – The Shining Sun and Crescent Moon

Hello, everyone! How have you been doing? Well, I've been doing great! I'll tell you about what's happened so far.

First of all, summer vacation started two weeks ago. I did all that studying and stuff and I have to admit, I wish I was back in school. I'm so bored. Also, Mega hasn't really wanted to do anything either. So it's just me and him most of the day doing absolutely nothing.

Second, I haven't heard from Ryan ever since he graduated. It's like he dropped off the face of the Earth. I'm worried about him. Why didn't I ask for his number, I don't know? I could have even asked to be Brothers with him, but before I could, he was gone.

"Geo, your mom told you to pack an extra pair of underwear and your swim trunks."

I was lugging a pile of clothes into my room. "Thanks for telling, Mega! I'm already one step ahead of her."

"Also, she said you shouldn't forget your... toothpaste?"

I noticed the reluctant tone in Omega-Xis's voice. "Toothpaste? What's so weird about it, Omega-Xis?"

"Umm... What's it for? To glue your teeth together?"

"Of course not, silly! It's for brushing your teeth!"

"Umm...okay, you go ahead and use that."

Omega- Xis began to float away. I sighed then chuckled a little.

Well my boredom will be gone for a while. Today, I'm heading out on a week-long trip to the Ambrosia Resort. If you're wondering who invited me, it was the Satella Police. Surprised, right? I was pretty shocked too when I found out. Dr. Goodall thought that everyone deserved a vacation for all of the hard work we did this year! So, everyone from Project Pleiades is coming along.

I zipped up my duffel bag and threw it on my back. I then went downstairs to put my stuff amongst the rest of the luggage in the living room. As I threw my bag in the stack by the front door, I saw my Mom and Dad having a small conversation.

"Oh c'mon, honey! It'll be fun! You can go to the spa and-" Dad grabbed a brochure and held it up so Mom could see. "Look how crystal blue the water is!"

"Honey, I honestly don't want to go. Besides, if you're worried about me having fun, my friends and I will party like crazy while you're gone!"

"Huh?"

The doorbell rang. I went to get it. I opened the door to find Pat, with his luggage, on my doorstep.

"Pat! You're bright and early!"

"Of course! I didn't want to slow you guys down so I came extra early!"

Pat gave me his usual smile. He stepped inside and put his duffel bag down right by the rest of the bags.

Dr. Goodall said we could invite one guest with us. I used my invite on pat, so that is why he is here now.

"I'm surprised, Geo. You're not wearing your Visualizer today."

"Yeah. I've decided to go 'vacation' mode and keep it in my pocket."

"I see."

Pat paused for a moment.

"Also, Geo, who's coming with us anyway? You never told me."

"Well... It's me, you, Dad, Bud, Sonia, Jack and his family, Dr. Goodall, Crystal-"

Pat instantly went pale. "Wait, Crystal's coming?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Um... Nothing!"

Why is Pat so curious about Crystal coming?

Honk! Honk!- I looked outside the window in the house to see what made that honking. It was the yellow cab my father called twenty minutes ago.

"Oh, Dad, the cab is here!"

Dad quickly grabbed our bags and went outside to load up the cab.

Pat and I were about to step out before then I felt a presence from behind me. It was my mother. The way how she had her hands on her hips and tapped her foot on the floor a little made it seem as if she was waiting for something.

"Come here, you two."

Mom must always have her goodbyes from everyone.

We came over. My Mom then proceeded to kiss both of us on the cheek. My face burned up where she had pecked me. I looked over at Pat and his face was bright red.

"Now, you two stay out of trouble. Geo, make sure your father doesn't do anything stupid either."

"Like that's going to happen-"

I was cut off by Pat and Mom's sarcastic gaze in my eyes.

"All right, I'll watch out for him."

"Have a safe trip, you two. You two are the only sons I'll ever have, y'know."

Pat's face turned as pale as paper.

"Patrick Sprigs, why are you still surprised by this? You already know that you are like another son to me."

"But- Ah-"

I joined in. "Actually, I see you as a, as the saying goes, 'brother from another mother' myself."

Pat looked even more shocked.

"G-Geo..."

"See, even Geo agrees. And he's my real son. I bet even Kelvin agrees."

Dad came back inside the house. He must've heard the conversation because he pulled me and Pat into a big headlock and grinned.

"Why, of course I do! You two are my boys. And I love both of you the same!"

"Dad, You're messing up my hair."

"Mr. Stelar..." Pat smiled.

"Okay, you all better get out of here. You guys have a plane to catch."

"Bye Mom!"

"Bye, Mrs. Stelar!"

Pat and I threw on our backpacks, exited the house and headed to the cab. Now Mom and Dad were left on the doorstep.

"Now, honey, make sure you watch out for Geo and Pat. Also, don't go too crazy. You have Arthur with you and you know what happens when the two of you get together."

"I know, honey. Besides, he can't go too crazy anyway. He's bringing the family with him."

"But that didn't stop him last time-"

Dad suddenly covered Mom's mouth.

"What happened at the high school reunion stays at the high school reunion!"

"Mmm... M'kay!"

Dad put his hand away from her face. He then pulled Mom into his arms and then spun around a little. Mom went into a giggling fit. Dad then put Mom and gave her one last kiss and ran out of the house and into the cab.

Mom waved to us from the doorstep. "Take care, everyone!"

"Bye!"

And we were off to the airport.

As we drove there, Pat, Dad, and I began to talk about what we are going to do during our trip. Pat said he wanted to relax by the pool and finish a book he recently brought. I said I wanted to get some surfing lessons and observe the stars. And, of course, Dad wanted to drink Mahaba Mamas and hit the club.

Oh heck no.

"No hitting the club for you, Dad!"

"Or Mahaba Mamas!"

"Aww, c'mon. How can we be going to the Mahabas Islands and not do that?"

"Dad, you'll go nuts! Like you did at your high school reunion!"

"What the- How do you know about that?!"

"'Cause I was the one that had to drag you home!"

"I did too. By the way, Mr. Stelar, you're really heavy."

Dad looked really embarrassed.

"So don't do that kind of stuff, okay!"

"Fine, I won't. Besides, I have Arthur with me, so I'll be A-Okay!"

Pat and I looked at each other. Ace is another problem as well.

Before Pat and I could make a counter argument, we all arrived at the airport. Surprisingly, it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. We went right through security and all that boring junk without any problems.

After we all made it through security and checked in our suitcases, we all began to head to our terminal to meet up with everyone else. Ace, Tia, and Jack were waiting for us, with Carrie asleep in her stroller.

"Geo, Pat! Hey!"

Pat and I immediately ran over to Jack.

When Dad and Ace saw each other, they ran towards each other in pure happiness. Then the two chest-butted each other and jumping around happily like little girls. Everyone in our terminal turned to look at the two men dance around like complete idiots. I immediately hid behind Pat, trying to act like that one of those dancing buffoons wasn't my father. Mrs. Tia and Jack both face-palmed themselves while Pat sighed.

When the two were done acting like monkeys, Ace began to talk.

"So, everyone else is excited?"

"Yeah!"

Jack responded by secretly rolling his eyes and scoffing.

"Geo!" I heard a familiar gruff shout from behind.

We all turned around to find that Bud, Zack, and Luna had arrived. The three walked over to Pat, Jack, and I.

"So how many bags did you pack, Luna?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"Five. Why?"

Did that just shoot over her head? And what?

"Uhh... Why five bags?" I asked.

"Duh, for all of my clothes. One bag is my swimsuits, another is for my dresses, another is for my other clothes, and the last one has all of my other crap in it. The fifth bag is the cute bag I'm holding."

All of the guys just sighed while Jack snickered.

Suddenly I heard a girl scream my name from behind me. I turned around to find Sonia running towards me. She jumped me and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. From the speed of her tackle, we both fell to the floor. My face turned bright red, either from being around Sonia or being choked by her.

"Geo! It's been forever since the last time I saw you!"

"So... nia... I'm... dying!..."

"Oh, sorry!"

She immediately got up off me and I got back up as well. When we were back up, Crystal was running towards us too. Instead of jumping me, she stopped when she was with us.

"Sonia, why did you run off like that?!"

"Sorry! I saw everyone and got really excited."

Crystal sighed but in the end couldn't help but giggle. Sonia joined in on the giggling as well.

"So, now we're just waiting for Dr. Goodall, right?"

"Yep."

"Mommy, what's going on?"

We all turned around to find the voice was coming from Carrie, who had just woken up.

I never really got down to describing who Carrie actually is, so I'll do so now. Carrie looks like a spitting image of her father, except she had her mother's pale skin. Carrie's hair is medium-length in the front while the rest of her hair is short. The reason why is because, according to Jack and Mrs. Tia, one day Carrie was watching a show on TV that had a character cutting a girl's hair and Carrie decided to try that out for herself. As you can see, she failed miserably. After careful trimming, however, Carrie's hair became an iconic hairdo. Today, she was wearing a sailor dress, shoes, and hat in her favorite color- orange.

"Oh, Carrie, you're awake."

Mrs. Tia unstrapped her child out of her stroller. Carrie stood up out of her stroller and looked around. After she got a good feel of her surroundings, she looked at me. She suddenly smiled and started running towards me.

"Uncle Geo!"

I pulled her up and spun her around. She giggled as she went up in the air.

"Hi Carrie! It's been forever, orange girl!"

"I'm not orange girl!" Carrie puffed up her cheeks as if she was irritated. Cutely irritated.

Everyone began to laugh.

As you all know, Carrie is Mrs. Tia and Ace's daughter. I was pretty worried that the two were having a kid in the first place. But it seems that my worrying was for nothing.

First of all, how do I put this... Carrie is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE! Every time I see her, all I want to do is squeeze her huge cheeks! Eeeeeee!

Also, she loves everything orange. The color orange, the fruit orange, the fact no other word rhymes with orange- Yep, she loves it way too much.

Did I also forget the fact that Carrie is basically mini-Ace? She is almost exactly like her father in appearance (except she's just so cute!) and personality. And did I forget to say that they both are die-hard lovers of Mega Snacks! Yep, Carrie is like her father. But I hope not too much...

Anyway, she also calls anyone she meets that friends with her "big brother" uncle and auntie. So that's why Carrie called me "Uncle Geo" back there.

"Wow, Geo! Who's the kid?" All of my friends except for Jack asked.

"It's my little sis- I mean my niece!"

"Who are you guys?"

"I'm Bud!"

"I'm Luna."

"I'm Zack."

"I'm Sonia."

"I'm Crystal."

"And I'm Pat!"

"Okay, then!", Carrie said, as she began to point at her new friends, "For now on, you're Uncle Bud! You're Uncle Zack! You're Auntie Sonia! You're Auntie Kristy! You're Uncle Pat! And you're..."

Everyone was happy for their new nicknames except for Luna, who was waiting for her new name.

"Grandma Luna!"

"WHAT?!"

Jack burst out laughing while Bud, Zack, Sonia, and I were trying to hold back or laughs. Crystal looked completely shocked. Luna looked absolutely furious.

"What did you just call me, little girl?"

"Duh, you're Grandma Luna, Grandma Luna!"

Ah, children and their innocence- It's what makes them so cute and it's what gets them killed by Luna Platz.

Luna looked like she was summoning the demons from hell as she made an attempt to choke the living daylights out of a 3-year-old. Carrie climbed up into Jack's arms, trying to hide from her scary grandmother.

"Waah! Big Brother, save me from scary grandma Luna!"

"It's alright. Grandma is just grouchy and old like how Daddy looks when he doesn't have his morning Mega Snack!"

Luna and Ace both said, "Hey!"

"Ah- I know what to do now!"

Jack let her out of his arms and Carrie walked over to Luna. She took a Mega Snack bar out of her pocket and ripped open the package. She broke the bar in two and gave a piece to Luna.

"Here! You must've not eaten your morning Mega Snack! Daddy says it's never good to miss out of your morning Mega Snack. I was saving this for later, but I think you need it more than me!"

Luna somehow smiled. "Thank you."

Luna took the Mega Snack and slowly ate it. When she was done, Carrie giggled happily and started dancing around. We all smiled as we watched the little girl parade around.

During Carrie's dancing, I asked Luna, "So, how'd it taste?"

"Dreadful. It tasted like dog crap. But..."

Carrie was now talking to Sonia and Crystal, giggling about something.

"To see a little girl happier is much better than eating Mega Snacks."

We all began to talk and play with Carrie as we waited for Dr. Goodall to arrive. Bud gave Carrie a piggy back ride. Carrie put on Zack's glasses and accidentally bumped into a pole. Sonia and I were playing freeze tag with her. Luna and Crystal watched all of us play.

Everyone seemed to enjoy playing with Carrie until it came down to Pat's turn. Something very odd happened when she saw Pat. She immediately ran behind Crystal to hide.

"Carrie, what's wrong?"

"Please... Please protect me from the scary man!" Carrie held onto Crystal's leg for dear life.

Everyone was quite surprised. How could Pat possibly scare Carrie? Pat is the nicest person I know. Plus, he's very friendly. Maybe the horror movie fab of his finally caught onto him. Pat tried to be more friendly by lowering himself down and smiling.

"What do you mean?"

"What, you can't see the big scary man?"

"Wah- You don't mean me, do you?"

Carrie quickly shook her head from side to side, confirming she meant no. "You can't see the big scary man?"

"What big scary man?"

Everyone except for Pat moved to the side where Crystal and Carrie were, trying to see who this person Carrie was talking about. The only other person that was behind Pat was a person who worked in the airport. This person was also a woman who was just randomly passing by.

"Do you mean her?"

"No! I mean the big scary man!"

"What big scary man? Can you point him out?"

Carrie pointed her finger directly right next to Pat. We all looked over there and saw nothing. Is Carrie going crazy or something?

"Carrie, no one's there." Luna said.

"That's not true."

"Sorry, kiddo, but we're pretty sure!" Bud said.

"Well, whoever this big scary man is, Big Brother will protect you from him, 'kay?" Jack he scooped her up in his arms.

"Okay!"

Carrie began to jump around and be a happy 3-year-old again. We all let off our nerves for now, but personally I still can't get that out of my head. What man was Carrie talking about? Was she imagining things or... a ghost?! Oh man, I think I won't be sleeping tonight if I don't get that thought out of my head!

When I was about to go over and play with Carrie, Dr. Goodall finally arrived.

"Good morning, Dr. Goodall!"

"And good morning to you too."

Carrie smiled and walked over to the doctor. "It's Dr. Goodie Woodie!"

"Ah, Carrie. It's been a long time since I last saw you. You've grown taller and- Ah, what happened to your hair?!"

Mrs. Tia answered for her daughter. "It involved TV, inspiration, and scissors."

"Oh, I guess you'll be telling me on the flight."

"Of course, Doctor."

Ding dong ding. An announcement started to echo all throughout the airport. "Flight 158 to Grand Mahaba Island International Airport has arrived and will begin boarding shortly."

"Ah, we should all get ready to board. Get your tickets out everyone!"

We all pulled out our tickets, gathered our belongings, and got on the growing line. I finally got a chance to look at my ticket for the first time. According to the ticket, I'll be sitting right by the emergency exit in the middle of the plane. Great, so if something happens, I'll have to be the hero to save everyone as usual. But at least Pat will be sitting in the same row as me.

After the ticket lady checked our tickets, Pat and I headed onto the plane with Dad following behind. We went to our row, Row 17. Pat and I sat down but Dad kept on moving back.

"Dad, isn't your seat here?"

"No, I'm in Row 21. See you later, kiddos."

Pat and I immediately looked at each other. Who is sitting next to us? Pat and I moved into our appropriate seats, waiting for the person who was to fill the empty seat next to Pat.

Surprisingly, Crystal came over.

"Is this Row 17?"

"Yep!"

Crystal gave her ticket one last look and sat down next to Pat. So, Crystal's sitting with us. Pat's face turned bright red as soon as she sat down. Suddenly, Pat turned over to me.

"C-Can we switch seats, Geo?!" He sounded nervous.

"Um... Sure."

We quickly switched seats. Pat looked out the window, face still red and twirling a piece of his hair with his finger. Why is Pat getting so nervous? It's just Crystal.

"Pat, are you okay? Your face is red as a beet."

"Uh- Yeah! I'm totally fine! Really!" Pat turned away.

"Are you sure? You're starting to freak me out."

"Yeah! Really!"

No matter what Pat said, I was still worried. I wonder if the two had a fight or something...

Crystal then looked at me and Pat.

"So... What are you guys going to do when we get to the resort?"

"Unpack my stuff then take a nap!"

"Uh- Same thing!" Pat still sounds nervous.

Crystal noticed Pat's face. "Umm... Pat, are you okay? You look feverish."

"Yeah! I'm fine!"

"No, you're obviously not fine."

Crystal put her hand on Pat's forehead, trying to feel his temperature. Crystal's hand must've been a catalyst to the process because Pat's face turned blood red.

"Ah, Pat! You're on fire!"

"But you're causing the fire!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Ah-uh- Crap! Um..."

Before Pat could say what he wanted to, the flight attendant made an announcement that we are about to set off. Everyone buckled up and our flight began.

* * *

"And that's how Carrie cut her hair."

"Haha! Your Carrie is such a bundle of energy, huh?"

Dr. Goodall and I, Tia Eos, are in the first row of the plane, chatting about my daughter and husband. If you're wondering where they are, they are with Kelvin in the very last row. When I went to the bathroom a moment ago, I saw that the three were knocked out. I couldn't help but giggle at how cute they were.

Uh... Anyway...

"But there's something quite odd that happened that I wanted to talk to you about, Doctor."

"Yes, what is it?"

"That green-haired friend of Geo's... Patrick Sprigs, I believe his name was."

"Ah, yes. That boy we saw in the nurse's office during the Orion incident. Go on."

"There's something seriously wrong with him."

"What do you mean?"

"While we were waiting for you in the terminal, Carrie said she saw a 'big scary man' right behind Patrick."

"A big scary man? I didn't see anyone behind Patrick when I arrived."

"That's my point."

"That's quite odd. Maybe Carrie was seeing a spirit or something?"

"A spirit, Doctor?"

"Maybe. I've read articles that say that small children have the ability to see spirits and supernatural things. This ability, however, goes away as they grow older, which would explain why none of us saw this 'man'."

"I see."

"But why would a horrible spirit like that be hanging around such a nice little boy?"

"That's my question too. Remember how Pat knew my husband's name before he even met him?"

"Ah yes. But didn't you say that Arthur was just being forgetful?"

"I lied."

Dr. Goodall looked quite shocked.

"Neither me or Arthur has ever met that child before."

"Tia, you're not implying that-"

"I'm not implying anything, Doctor. I'm just saying that we should keep an eye on that boy. He may become a nuisance for Project Pleiades or even worse."

"I see... You know Tia, you always have a keener eye than anyone else here. You truly are my eyes and ears."

"Ah, Doctor! You shouldn't say things like that."

Dr. Goodall giggled.

Patrick Sprigs, huh? I better make a mental note that Pat might be trouble.

* * *

"This is awesome!"

We finally arrived at Grand Mahaba Island International Airport. Everyone was cheering because we saw from out of a window a magnificent view of the crystal-blue ocean. It was simply gorgeous! I absolutely can not wait to get to the resort now!

"Now, everyone, we shouldn't celebrate just yet. We have a boat to catch." Ace said.

"A boat?"

"Yes. Our resort isn't on this island. Ambrosia Resort is on Shining Sun Island." Dr. Goodall said.

Crystal looked a little frightened all of a sudden. She clenched her hands against her heart.

"Crystal?"

"Uh- Sorry! We should be heading to the the baggage claim." Crystal then gave me a fake smile.

Crystal... What's going on?

As we headed to the baggage claim, Dr. Goodall continued what she was saying earlier.

"Shining Sun Island is a little ways north from here. It's a 15-minute ride to hop from island to island, according to my guidebook."

"So we should be there soon, right?"

"Yes, Geo."

"Yes!"

Dr. Goodall laughed.

We finally arrived at the baggage claim. Dr. Goodall gave us a big guidebook of the resort, so we can learn about what we can do at the resort while we waited for our luggage to come.

"Let's see... There's snorkeling! And horseback riding! And oh, look! There's a mystery tour you can go on!"

"A m-m-mystery tour?" Bud sounded like he was getting the hibbie gibbies.

"Yeah. It says that we can learn about the spooky secrets and history of the island and its connections to Ambrosia!"

"Ambrosia? Wait, just what is it anyway?"

Crystal butted in. "Ambrosia is a extremely sweet plant that is said to be the food of the gods that are worshipped on the island. The mystery behind ambrosia and Shining Sun Island is that ambrosia is said to have been grown on the island. the extremely fertile lands and the loyal worshipers made it the perfect place for ambrosia to be grown. The spooks is that those mortals that ate ambrosia were punished by the gods."

"P-Punished?"

"Yes. The mortals were either sent to the Underworld or turned into animals or sent to suffer for eternity."

Zack, Bud, and I looked completely scared.

"Sounds interesting! Can't wait to try it out!" Pat said with a huge smile on his face.

Zack, Bud, and I looked at each other. Of course Pat would say something like that.

"How do you know so much about it anyway, Crystal?"

Crystal looked a bit reluctant to answer. Then she sighed and said, "Shining Sun Island is the brother island of my home island, Crescent Moon Island."

"Say what?!"

"I grew up hearing all of the creepy stories of ambrosia and Shining Sun Island."

"That's so cool, Crystal!"

Crystal giggled nervously. Dr. Goodall seemed to become fascinated by Crystal's knowledge of the islands.

"Would you mind telling us a little background on the two islands, Crystal? A real person is much better than any book."

"Um... Of course, Dr. Goodall."

Crystal began to talk about the legend of Shining Sun Island and Crescent Moon Island. We all eagerly listened to the tale that Crystal was going to tell us.

"Shining Sun Island and Crescent Moon Island are two islands that were created by worshipers of the twin gods, Apolo and Artema. Apolo is the god of the Sun. Artema is the goddess of the Moon.

Worshipers of Apolo and Artema left their original country to find a place to worship freely and traditionally. Eventually, they all ended up in the Mahabas Islands. However, due to a storm, everyone landed on different islands. The worshipers of Apolo ended up on Shining Sun while the worshipers of Artema ended up on Crescent Moon.

According to legend, the worshipers stayed on the island due to signs by their beloved gods. The worshipers of Apolo noticed that the Sun seemed to shine as bright as a diamond. They thought it was a sign from Apolo that this was where they belonged so the worshipers stayed. On Crescent Moon, the worshipers of Artema saw little white spirits dancing and singing at night. They saw this as a sign that they would be able to sing and dance if they remained on this island, so they stayed.

After a century, the two worshiping colonies figured out that the other had settled on the other island. In celebration of this, and ever since, they held Daylight and Twilight Festivals once a year to honor and thank their twin gods for giving them such beautiful land to live on. On the day of the Daylight Festival, everyone from the two islands would gather at Shining Sun Island and dance and feast together happily in the day, but swiftly return home before dusk came. And on the night of the Twilight Festival, everyone would gather on Crescent Moon Island just before dawn to listen to the singing of the Priestess of Artema."

"It is very sacred that no one should speak, so that Artema can hear the priestess' voice all the way from wherever she is in her hunts."

Wait, who said that?

We all turned to find the source of the voice of was a guy around my age. This guy was about a couple of inches taller than me. His perfectly tanned skin, dark pink eyes and wild pale green hair made him look like someone I have never seen before. But by that big smile on his face, he seemed friendly.

Crystal looked completely shocked.

"Kai, is that you?"

"Crystal! It's really you!"

I have never seen Crystal react the way she did when he saw this person before us. She literally dropped everything she had in her hands, ran at top speed, pushed random people that were in her way down to the floor, without apologizing either, and jumped into this guy's arms. The person hugged her back just as strongly as she did.

WTF?!

"Crystal! It's really you! I thought Father was messing with me when he said you were returning to the island!"

"I'm so glad you're safe, Kai! I thought you died!"

"Everyone thought you had died as well!"

The two then reluctantly let go and walked back to us.

"I'm sorry to scare you all. I'm a friend of Crystal's."

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh .

"You've grown so much taller than me, Kai!"

Crystal sniffed the air around her friend and squinted her face in disgust.

"And you also seem to still be catching fish."

"Hahaha! Crystal, you're still as funny as ever!"

The two laughed together. So this Kai guy (get it Kai and guy; they rhyme) seems to be friends with Crystal. That's good. I thought he was some crazy person and Crystal just likes to hug random strangers in the airport.

"So... you're just friends, right?"

"Of course, green one! We've been friends ever since we were babies! And I've always been taller than her!"

"Hey!" Crystal gave Kai a irritated but playful look.

"Anyway, I have to get back to work, Crystal!"

"Really? Why are you at the airport then if you're supposed to be fishing?"

"I took a part-time job as a tour guide for the resort. Since I love this island so much, Father thought it would be appropriate for me to do it. I'm looking for... I believe it was Dr. Goodall from the... Salmonella Police?"

"Do you mean the Satella Police?"

"Uh-" Kai took a piece of paper from his pocket, opened it, scanned its contents, then crushed it back in his pocket. "That sounds about right."

Oh he really mispronounced that.

"Ah, what luck! I happen to be the person you're looking for! And Crystal is a part of my group!"

"Get out! Well, I guess the Sun is truly on my side today!"

"Huh?"

"Oh! You all are new to the island, so you don't know about the sayings!"

"What sayings?"

"You see..."

Kai looked over at Crystal for support. Crystal giggled and joined in.

"Residents from Shining Sun Island say things that involve the sun to people."

"And residents from Crescent Moon Island say things that involve the moon to people."

"What do you mean?"

"Like for example, people would say 'May the Sun brighten your day today'."

"Or 'May the Moon gleam on your night tonight'."

"Oh, I see."

"Hehe, I love tourists. Telling them about my island's history is my greatest joy!" Kai then smiled even bigger.

Suddenly, an alarm went off. It startled me. Bags started to roll onto the baggage claim. Time to get my luggage.

When all of our things were found, we all headed out of the airport. As we were heading out, I looked over at Bud, who had the duty to carry all of Luna's stuff and his own. Poor Bud...

Zack must've seen my depressed look on my face because he made conversation with me. "Oh Geo, if you were wondering, the reason why Bud is carrying all of Luna's stuff is because he was late as usual."

Never mind, then.

* * *

We finally made it outside. Man, was it a gorgeous day outside! There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the Sun was extremely bright like how that legend said it was. We could see the sea and its crystal blue waves and the seagulls that flew above it. Everyone was in awe as they saw the beauty of Grand Mahaba Island. We haven't even gotten to Shining Sun yet!

"Wow, this is amazing!"

"It's gorgeous!"

"You'll be even more surprised when you get to the resort! Anyway, we'll be boarding my family boat to get to the island."

"Okay!"

We were taken to the boat that Kai was talking about. It was a speedboat that was able to fit barely all of us on. It took awhile to get everyone on the boat, since Dr. Goodall had to be taking out of her wheelchair. When we were all loaded in, Kai turned on the boat and we started driving off into the seemingly endless sea.

* * *

After about 10 minutes, I started to a big thing of dark green land ahead of us. After a minute, I could see a huge building with other contraptions surrounded it as we zoomed.

"See that building over there? That's the resort you'll be staying at."

"Wow. It's huge!"

"I know, right?! It's taken up quite a lot of land on the island. And the owners are pretty ruthless..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Crystal looked concerned and turned to Kai. "Kai, you shouldn't say things like that. Your father will-"

Crystal looked down for a moment. Realizing what she said, Crystal quickly apologized.

"It's alright, Crys. Father will realize sooner or later that the resort is a poison for this island rather than a blessing."

A poison? That's odd. Why would Kai say something like that? Maybe he has a hate thing for the resort. This is probably one of the mysteries I will end up solving during this week.

* * *

We arrived at the port. When I got off the boat, I could see how festive the town was. It's bright like the diamond that the legend mentioned. Everything just seemed so much warmer and happier here. Maybe even welcoming.  
It seems that something was going on. Signs were being put up and people were practicing foreign dances.

Kai turned to us and flashed us a smile. "You guys are in luck. Our Daylight and Twilight Festivals are this week. So you all will truly feel the sunniness of my people."

Crystal looked surprised. "Oh yes, I forgot about it! Oh, how could I forget such an important event!"

"It's all right. At least you're back in time..."

Crystal seemed taken aback by that. "What are you talking about?"

"Uh- We'll talk about it later! Anyway, let's get you guys to the resort!"

Kai waved his hand in the air as he was waving to someone. That someone he was waving to came over to us. He was a man in his twenties. He looked a lot like Kai except he had long hair and he wore glasses.

"Makani!"

"Ah, Kai! You've found the guests. Good work. Now, who are they anyway?"

"They are those guests Father was talking about."

"Ah, so you must be Dr. Goodall. I heard of your research, so I was interested and decided to help Kai out."

"I see. I'm quite surprised my research has reached even here."

"I'm in fact quite a big fan of yours, Doctor."

"I guess we'll be talking about this quite often... Um..."

"Oh, I never introduced myself. I am Makani. I am one of Kai's older brothers."

"You should say many older brothers."

Makani turned toward Crystal. He seemed a bit surprised but then reverted back to his stoic look from before. Makani tipped up his glasses back up to their proper place with his middle finger.

"My mother was very worried about you, Crystal."

"I'm not surprised. Your mother was always the worrier."

Makani smiled slightly but then went flat expression again.

"We should get you guys to the hotel."

Makani turned behind him and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Akamu! Keahi! Nahele! Konani! Come help Kai with the guests' luggage!"

Suddenly, four guys that looked like Makani and Kai came running over.

"What the heck?!"

Kai then looked like a light bulb went off in his head. "Oh yeah, I never told you guys. I'm the youngest of ten!"

"TEN?!"

"Yep! I have eight brothers and one sister. Three of my brothers left the island, though, so you'll only get to meet five of them."

We were still freaked out. The six brothers laughed together. The four boys that just came turned to finally realize Crystal was there. The four gasped and jumped Crystal into a huge bear hug.

"Crystal!"

Crystal seemed to have been crushed by the four brothers' giant hug but we could hear Crystal's giggles from beneath them. Kai joined in on the hug by jumping on the four boys. Makani decided to not join but chuckled.

After a while, the five got off of Crystal.

One of them said, "Oh Crystal! You're alive! We thought you died the day the Sun didn't shine!"

"Huh? The day the Sun didn't shine?"

All of the boys looked at us.

"You don't know about that day?!" Another said, getting slightly upset.

Makani turned to this one."Keahi, where is your manners? They're foreigners; they wouldn't know what we're talking about."

All of the people, including me, were a little confused.

Crystal decided to explain it.

"Everyone, do you remember when the ancient civilization of Mu fell to the Earth?"

"Ah, yes! Wait... So you're telling me that-"

Kai joined in. "Yes. The Sun didn't shine that day. That's a very bad omen to the residents of Shining Sun Island. It's even worse of an omen because of what happened that day..."

"What do you mean?"

Crystal looked very sad. "My island was directly under Mu the day it fell. You can already guess what happened."

Oh my goodness, don't tell me-

"What?! That's impossible! It was reported that Mu fell into the ocean!"

"Not all reports are true."

"So you're telling us that..."

"Yes. My home, Crescent Moon Island, was destroyed when Mu fell. I am one of the only survivors."

Makani then joined in.

"Unfortunately, you might be the only one left now, Crystal." He looked away. "Everyone who tried to escape to our island perished on the way. Many others are still missing to this day.

Crystal looked surprised, then sad, then just plain upset. "So that means that..."

Kai looked so sad for Crystal. "I'm sorry, Crystal..."

"It... It's alright... I'll be fine."

Crystal looked like she was the exact opposite of fine. I thought she was going to cry or something.

Another one of the brothers joined in. This one was more happy in a soothing way. "Crystal, you shouldn't cry. The Sun is shining now and on your path to the future. Besides, your family would be sad if they saw you like this."

"You're right, Konani... You know, you're always the one who's bright in a bad situation. No wonder your name means 'bright'."

This "Konani" scratched the back on his head. "Aww shucks, Crystal. You don't have to get all romantic and-"

Suddenly, Kai did a wrestling throw down on Konani. We were all a little shocked. The brothers and Crystal didn't look shocked at all.

Makani then turned to us. "Oh don't worry everyone, my brothers are always wrestling each other. They don't mean any harm."

"Uh- Are you sure?"

My father and Ace pointed at Konani, who was getting his head thrusted into the ground by Kai.

"Yes, I'm very positive."

Now that is a little crazy. To be used to the brothers fighting each other is quite odd. I hope it's just a cultural thing or something.

"Anyway, we should be getting you all to the hotel."

Kai and Konani immediately stopped, got up, and helped gather our things as if nothing happened. All of the brothers loaded our belongings into a red van.

After everyone was packed in, Makani and Kai hopped into the van, while the four brothers waved from outside. Makani turned on the van and he waved at his brothers goodbye.

Makani leaned his head out of the car window. "Meet at the hotel at two o'clock, alright? Father said he has an important announcement to make."

"Okay! May the Sun brighten your day, Makani!"

"And the same to you all as always!"

We began to drive away from the port to the resort.

* * *

We finally arrived at the Ambrosia Resort. It was enormous!

We drove up to the front of one of the many huge buildings. Makani came out of the van and opened the door.

He pulled out a card and read it aloud. "This stop is for Kelvin Stelar and Arthur Eos."

"What? We aren't in the same building?"

"No. According to your reservation, you were all put in separate buildings. But that doesn't mean you can go to the other buildings. You can always go through the archway over there to go to the other buildings. Of course, though, you all can not stay in a building that doesn't have a reservation for you. You can only stay in there until 3 am."

"Awesome! Let's go Artie!"

Dad jumped out of the van. Ace quickly followed. The two were about to get their luggage until Makani said to just go on ahead because the workers will help. Dad and Ace shrugged their shoulders and ran inside happily like small children going to Disney Land.

While the porters were getting their stuff, I tapped Makani on the shoulder.

"What is it, Mister?"

"First off, you can call me Geo. And two... Well..."

"Your father is a bit of a partier?"

"Yes! How did you know?"

"I could tell that you and Mr. Kelvin were related. Also, I could tell that Mr. Eos and him go, what you foreigners say... uh, way back?"

I laughed. Makani looked a little confused but then he laughed too. I guess we are all foreigners in this world!

After our small chat, Makani whispered to one of the porters. The porter looked a little surprised but he immediately pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"We got a AWTH in Room 2203 of the Beach Tower. I repeat, we have a AWTH in Room 2203 of the Beach Tower."

The porter left and he went back into the hotel. After all of their luggage was out of the van, Makani came back into the van.

Before we were about to go off, Crystal asked a very interesting question.

"Makani, what does AWTH mean?"

"Accident Waiting To Happen."

We all burst out into laughter. I guess it's true. Dad + Ace + Club = An Accident Waiting to Happen.

We all drove off again to our next stop: the biggest and fanciest building of them all. My heart skipped a beat when I began to think of me getting a massage in a fancy spa there or chillaxing in a huge hot tub or jumping on a gigantic bed.

While in my dreamworld, Makani came out of the car again.

"This stop is for the ladies."

Oh what the-

Dr. Goodall was helped out of the car while the others came out of the van with ease. Mrs. Tia placed Carrie in Jack's lap.

"Jack, you are to take care of Carrie while we are here."

"What?! I thought we had an agreement! During all family vacations, you were to take Carrie!"

"Yes, but there is one thing you skipped in your argument. This isn't a family vacation. This is a work vacation. Bye, Jack. Be good to your niece!"

Jack snarled but then he gave up his fight, knowing that he could never win against his sister.

Carrie looked at Jack with innocent eyes.

"Don't worry, Big Brother! I'll be extra good so you can have fun too!"

Luna and Sonia aww'd when they heard Carrie's cute words from outside the van. Jack even blushed a little from his niece's selfless statement. He patted her head.

"Thanks, Carrie. I guess this all just means we'll have to have more fun than Mommy, right?"

Jack then tickled Carrie, sending his niece into a giggling fit. All of us that were still in the van looked at Jack with stupid grins on our faces.

"Seeeeee! You do have a big brother complex!"

"Oh, shut it!"

Makani had just come back in the car. He finally noticed that Carrie was there and smiled nervously. He put her hand on her head and brushed her hair a little bit.

"Ah, I didn't see a little girl in the van at all. Were you asleep- AGGGHHH!"

Everyone was shocked at what Carrie had done. She bit Makani. He quickly pulled his hand back in pain. I got a good look at his hand and noticed that his hands had bite marks on it. Dang, that girl has some killer teeth!

"Uh- What was that for, little one?" He looked like he was trying his best to hold down his anger.

Carrie suddenly turned into a completely different personality from her own. She turned into what Zack would call "a diva".

"First of all, girly man, I don't like being touched by people who aren't my mommy, daddy, Big Brother, aunties or uncles. Second, I hate it when people touch my head. This hair ain't cheap, you know! And finally, I hate it when people call me little. I-am-not-little! I'm petite!"

Everyone in the van was in pure shock. Who would think that Carrie was such a demon child?

Makani looked like he was about to explode. "Ooo, I see we have a feisty one with us."

3,2,1

"You got that right, pinky!"

And boom, Makani exploded.

Makani stepped on the gas and we were going over a hundred miles per hour to our next destination. I felt like I was on a never ending roller coaster. Everyone was screaming and holding on tight. I hate to admit this but I want to EM Wave Change right now and get out of here. But I can't do that, now can I?

After what I believe was an eternity of torture, the van came to an abrupt stop in front of what it seemed to be our hotel.

Makani quickly got out of the van, slammed the door shut, walked around to our side of the vehicle, and pushed its door opened.

"Get. Out. Now."

Don't have to tell us twice. We not only zoomed out of the van, we also decided to not wait for the porters and we took all of our luggage to the lobby ourselves.

What the heck is up with Makani?

* * *

Kai and Makani were talking to one another. Kai looked concerned after seeing his brother blow up in the car.

"Makani, are you okay? You usually don't act like this."

"Yes, I'm okay, Kai. I am absolutely fine." Makani rolled his eyes.

Kai then looked at the ground for a moment. After a pause, he looked up at Makani again.

"Is it something Father did?"

Makani looked surprised. "W-What gave you that notion?"

"Brother, I know that Father's been pushing a lot things on you recently."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me now, Makani. Ever since Mother had that vision, you and Father have been 'chatting' more often."

"More like arguing to me."

Kai then sighed. "Makani... It hurts me too to hear such odd things from Father. He would have never allowed those foreigners to build this resort on the island if he was straight upstairs!"

"Kai, you shouldn't say things like that."

"You know it's true."

Makani then sighed in defeat. "I guess you're right about that."

Makani tucked up his glasses again. "It seems everyone is changing for the worse."

"I agree. Our skies are getting gloomier by the day."

"Speaking of Father, has he been pressuring you, Kai?"

"Of course. Ever since I became a Sign, he's been on my case. Why?"

"Did he ever ask you things about Crystal?"

"Crystal? Umm... Yeah?"

"What did he ask you?"

"The usual."

"I mean something unusual."

"What do you mean?"

"Did he ask you about the-?"

"Excuse me..."

The two looked down to see Carrie had said that. They looked up again to find the teenage males of the guests they just drove to the hotel standing in a line in front of them.

* * *

After we put our things in the lobby, we all came back outside to where Kai and Makani were. The two looked like they were having a conversation but Carrie interrupted it. Makani seemed calmer now so I don't he's that angry anymore.

"Ah, it's little one again. What is it?"

Carrie was about to say something but then she stopped and looked up at Jack. Jack just nodded his head. Carrie then looked back up at Makani.

"I'm sorry."

Jack wasn't satisfied. "Andddd?"

"I was acting like a big meanie."

"Andddd?"

"I didn't mean to be that way."

"Andddd?"

"I'm still not little."

Jack face-palmed himself. Close but no cigar it seems.

Makani just chuckled nervously. He poked Carrie's forehead. She looked a little surprised then a little angry.

"I forgive you, little one."

"I'm not little! And is this a custom of the island, Mr. Kani?"

"No, little one. I just wanted to poke your head."

"I'm not little! And stop poking my head!"

Everyone laughed. Jack and Carrie went back to where the rest of us were standing. Kai and Makani gave us questioning looks.

"Anyway, why are you all still out here? Shouldn't you be inside, checking in?"

"Actually..."

I looked at everyone for the signal. They all slightly nodded.

"Thank you very much!"

Kai and Makani were a little surprised at first but then the two burst out into whole hearted laughter.

"Is that a custom from your country?"

"Yes, it is!"

The two laughed even more. We were clueless as to why they were laughing but we ended up joining in.

After all of the laughter, Makani hopped back into the van.

"Oh here's a tip for you. When you say hello or goodbye to someone on the island, you say 'May the Sun brighten your day'."

"Ah, then-"

I turned to everyone. We knew what we had to do.

"May the Sun brighten your day, Makani!"

"And may the Sun brighten your day as well, my friends."

Makani drove off, leaving Kai to help us.

We all went back into the hotel. The indoors resembled the sunniness from outside. The floor was of glassy orange tiles and the walls were yellow. All over the place were artifacts and symbols I've never seen before. These could possibly be from the island.

Kai went over to the receptionist for a moment and came back to us with six wristbands: five red, one pink.

"Welcome to Coral Tower! Here are your keys, everyone. The red ones are for the guys and the pink one is for the little one."

"Grr! I'm not little!"

Kai chuckled.

"Don't try to take these off. They can't come off anyway."

We all put on our wristbands. I tried to test mine out by attempting to take it off but it won't come off. Kai's right.

"Okay, I'll show you to your rooms now. Don't get too comfortable in your rooms, though. Meet back here in the lobby at 1:30. My family wants to talk to you about the island."

"Cool!"

"'Cool'? Is that a foreign saying?"

"Yep. It's like saying..."

"Hahaha! I was just kidding. We say 'cool' here on the island, too."

Then Kai looked like he realized something. "Speaking of which, I have no clue who you guys are!"

"I'm Geo Stelar."

"I'm Patrick Sprigs, but everyone calls me Pat."

"I'm Bud Bison."

"I'm Zack Temple."

"I'm Jack Eos. And this is my sis- I mean niece Carrie."

"What wonderful names. I might as well give you all a formal introduction. I'm Kai Aulani. Everyone calls me Kai, though." Kai bowed a little.

Oh geez, I always get so embarrassed when people bow.

"That's quite a name, Kai!"

"Really? What do you mean, Zack?"

Zack tucked up his glasses. "I believe your name means 'royal messenger of the sea', correct?"

"Yes, it does! You must know a lot about the island to know that."

"Not much. I just looked up some words and facts about it. Your family is also pretty famous according to the rest of the information I read."

"Hehe, you can say that."

So Kai's family is famous. I guess I'll be finding out how at the meeting later on.

"So, let's head upstairs!"

We all got on a elevator. Kai clicked the '10' button on the panel and the elevator lifted us up. When the doors opened again, we all got off and headed to our right. I could see that the floor's theme was set up different from downstairs as we walked down the hall. Everything was red -The tiles, the walls, even the ceiling.

We then stopped in front of Room 1023.

"This is Bud's room. Bud, hit this little panel with the wrist with the bracelet on it so you can open the door."

Bud did as Kai asked. A little green light lit up on the panel and the door made a clicking sound. Bud then turned the door knob and opened the door.

Kai turned on the light, and we saw how extravagant the room was. The room was themed like the hallway- all red. The room was large, with a queen-sized bed, mini bar, TV, random furniture, and closet. I began to look around and opened a door. The door lead to the bathroom. It was all white with tiny red toiletries and towels.

Bud looked so excited. He couldn't stop gawking at every little thing he saw. Kai must've seen how silly Bud was acting.

I betting you love it?"

"Boy, do I!"

Bud then made a sprint for the bed. He flopped on the bed but immediately was flipped right off of it and he crashed into the carpet below.

All of us tried to hold back our laughter.

"I can hear you snickering!"

"Pfffffffffthahahahahahahahah ahaha!"

We ended up laughing our butts off. As he got off the floor, Bud gave all of us a stern look.

"Wait 'til we get to the pool, guys! You're the first ones I'm throwing in!"

"Unless we get you first!"

"Oh, let's see about that!"

"Yes, let's!"

Kai then came in between us.

"Let's head to Zack's room next!"

Zack seems excited. "Ooo! I can't wait!"

I noticed Bud was still behind us.

"You're coming with us?"

"Might as well. I want to see everyone else's rooms."

We all left out Bud's room and headed back to the elevator. We went up a floor and turned right. After a long walk down the green hallway, we arrived at Zack's room: Room 1108. Zack opened up the door and we all went inside. Zack's room was as big and luxurious as Bud's. However, it had more of a green theme to it.

Zack was starstruck.

"My favorite color, too! Oh, my epitome of happiness is truly occurring!"

We all just looked at Zack in disbelief as he pranced around like a little fairy.

As we began to look around, I noticed something on the dinette table- carrots. Lots and lots of carrots.

"Are these... carrots?"

"Carrots?!"

Zack gasped in awe and held the basket of his beloved carrots close to his heart.

"Oh, I am so growing 2 more inches this week!"

Bud, Pat, Jack, and I just facepalmed ourselves. Kai looked completely confused.

"Umm... Is he-"

"Obsessed with growing taller? Yes. Very obsessed."

Kai shook his head."It seems I'll be asking Apolo to shine his light on him when I get home."

After Zack finished dancing around, we all left his room and got on the elevator.

We went up to the 19th floor and turned left when we got off the elevator. This hallway was yellow. We walked down the hall until we were in front of Room 1934.

"This is Jack and Carrie's room next."

Carrie squealed and jumped a little while Jack just smirked.

"Only Jack can open the room door so c'mon up."

Jack used his key and opened the door.

The room wasn't like Bud or Zack's. It was more of a miniature apartment in my opinion. Two couches, huge TV in the front. I turned to my right and found a door to what could be Jack's room. It was so dark in there, even when I turned the lights on. Maybe because of the purple wallpaper and black curtains? Yeah, probably.

Jack must've saw the room from behind me because he pushed me aside and ran in.

I think I have never seen Jack this excited before. He was reacting like how Carrie was just a moment ago- squealing and jumping.

"Holy crap, dude! This has to be my room!"

"It is."

Wow, when did Kai get here? He walked in too.

"We made this room especially for you guys. Well, in fact, all of the rooms were custom made just for all of your arrivals."

"Really?! That's amazing!"

Kai chuckled.

"The doc must know her people if she could get all of this for us!"

"She's friends with my father, I believe."

"Really?"

"I think so. My father is really thankful for all the things she is doing for the island so we wanted you all to have the time of your lives."

I finally joined in. "That's... That's so kind of you all. Your family is too kind I swear!"

Kai then looked embarrassed. "I-I don't think we are all that, really! We just are doing what any other person would."  
"This is way beyond what any regular person could do. You guys are just amazing. At the meeting today, I think we should really thank you guys for all of this!"

Kai then chuckled. "We don't need all of that praise really!"

Everyone left the room and got on the elevator and went up to the 23rd floor. We stopped walking through the blue hallway when we were in front of Room 2314.

"This is Geo and Pat's room. Whoever wants to open the door can..."

I stepped up to the plate. I put my wrist against the lock panel on the door. The door clicked. I then opened the door. I think my jaw might've fallen off from it being so agape.

OH MY GOD THIS ROOM IS PERFECT.

The room was like Jack and Carrie's- like an apartment. I didn't even realize how fast I was walking to the other side of the room. Am i really this excited over a room?

I opened a door and it led to a light blue room. The bed was humongous. Plus, it had an aqua blue blanket like the one I use at home. Is this my room?

I then noticed the curtains. I moved them and saw one of the greatest views ever. It gave the most perfect view of the sky I have ever seen.

This better be my room.

"I feel like I'm at home!"

Kai came in and said, "Not surprised. I heard you like stars, so Makani had fun setting up your room."

"Makani did it?"

"Yeah, all of my siblings help out at the resort doing different things. Makani has the oddest jobs out of all of us. He does so many random things that even I get confused."

"That sounds kind of... weird."

"I think so myself."

Kai started to leave the room. "I'll be taking my leave. I'll meet you in the lobby later on. Oh, and your luggage should be coming up soon. May the sun brighten your day, Geo!"

"May the sun brighten your day as well, Kai!"

Kai left the room.

I came out of my side of my room and went into the living room part. Pat also came out of, I'm guessing, his room.

"So who's hungry for lunch?"

Pat and I looked at Bud. Lunch?

"I am!"

Oh Zack why are you encouraging him?

"I am as well!" Jack and Carrie said.

"Why don't we order something? We might as well stay here."

"Stay here? Oh heckkkkk no." Pat and I said at the same time.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean get out!"

Pat and I kicked everyone out. When they were out, I slammed the door in their faces.

Lunch can wait. I'm doing that one thing I wanted to do the minute I got in here.

I went back into my room and closed the door. I then plopped face down onto my humongous bed.

"Ahhhhh, this is so comfy!"

I wanted to do this as soon as I saw the room. This bed is just perfect. I feel like I'm melting into the bed that's how soft it is.

"Seems you are enjoying yourself, Geo." Mega it seems.

"Sure am!" I turned over to face my Wizard. "I can't wait to do some actual stuff! I'm on a mission to learn how to surf."

"Surf? You mean the thing the owner of that Battle Card store does?"

"Yup!"

"Sounds fun."

"It is if you know how to do it."

I then began to roll around across the bed.

"Ahhhhh, I'm so excited!"

"Geo! The luggage is here!"

And I rolled right off the bed. BAM! Right into the carpet. Dang, Karma really got me this time.

Mega burst out laughing. Thanks... Really, thanks, Mega.

I got up off the floor and exited the room. Pat must've shouted that statement that caused me to bust my behind a moment ago. He was holding the door to the hotel room for someone. That someone I believe I saw recently. This someone was very tall and extremely muscular. He seemed to carry all of the stuff he was holding with such ease. Were those two duffel bags of clothes like pillows to him?

What caught my eyes the most were those gold bracelets. There was a big gold bracelet for every wrist. The bracelets were very shiny, as if they were cherished deeply by it owner. Odd for a man, but hey, who am I to judge? I shine the dog tag Pat brought me every Sunday.

"Here's your things, guys!"

"Ah, you're one of the Aulani brothers, right?"

"Yes! I'm Akamu. I'm strong like the earth I was named after. I'm guessing Kai told you about me and my siblings since you know my surname."

"Yeah, he did. I'm curious. Kai said all of your siblings work here."

"Yes! Since I'm the strongest of my brothers, I get all of the lifting jobs. So, I sometimes deliver luggage, like now!"

"Is your job hard?"

"Not at all! Everything is always light!"

"That's great!"

"I guess I'll be leaving then. See you at two! May the Sun brighten your day!"

"May the Sun brighten yours as well!"

Akamu left the room with a hop in his step. He seems like he's a happy type of person. I think I will enjoy his company.

When Akamu left, Pat and I took our bags and unpacked our clothes into the closets and dressers in our room. When I was done, I flopped on the cream leather couch in the living room. Ahh, even this is soft. I could just sleep right here.

"Geo, you have got to see this!"

Sleeping can wait. I'm curious about what Pat is talking about.

I got up and went to where Pat was: The balcony. Have I ever seen a view this magnificent? It looks like something that could be on a postcard. The perfect amount of crystal blue ocean, white sand, and clear sky.

I am loving this island more and more, aren't I?

"This is amazing!"

"I can't wait to see what it's like at night!"

I didn't even think about that.

"You're right! The stars are probably going to be beautiful!"

For the next hour, Pat and I ended up talking about what we know about the island so far and other random stuff. I wonder what everyone else is doing.

* * *

Bud was sound asleep in his bed. Snoring and drooling as well. Catching up on the z's, eh?

Bud turned in his sleep.

"... Luna... Burgers... Ginger Beef... Pizza... Can I have... A side of fries with... That..."

The way how he's sleeping, Bud might not be coming to the meeting after all.

* * *

Zack was in his room sitting at a desk. He was surfing the Net on his laptop. at the same time, he was munching on the carrots he found in his room. When he finished one, he would just get another one out of the basket and nibble on it like a rabbit. His eyes never left the computer screen however. He was like a robot. Type, type, type, munch, munch, munch, grab another, and repeat.

"Zack, do you need any assistance?"

A yellow Wizard appeared next to Zack.

"Actually, that was perfect timing, Pedia. Can you help me find some sources for this article I am writing about?"

"Of course. What are you looking for?"

"Sources about Shining Sun Island. I would like to learn some of the legends of the island and post them on the Web."

"Alright. Looking for information now."

Pedia went completely silent for a minute.

"I apologize, Zack. There is no information of about legends from Shining Sun Island."

Zack bit hard into the carrot. He turned to Pedia.

"Wh-What do you mean there is no information?"

"I have searched every source on the Net. There are zero results."

"Is there any message from the government that says why?"

"None. Just no results."

"That's a shame."

Zack then turned back to his computer. He was about to start typing again but then he stopped. Instead, he quickly finished his carrot.

"Thank you, Pedia. You're always a big help."

"Your welcome, Zack."

Pedia went back into Zack's Hunter-VGX. Zack went back his surfing.

* * *

**Jack and Carrie were having a tea party in Carrie's room. They sat at a small table with tiny chairs meant for tiny legs like Carrie's. They had guests of two teddy bears and one stuffed bunny rabbit. Jack looked pretty uncomfortable since the chair he was in was too small for his long legs.**

Carrie sipped the iced tea in her tiny porcelain teacup, pinky out of course.

"I think we should have a toast to Sir Bunny Bun today. He slew the dragons the King told of."

"We should, Princess Carrie."

"Let us all toast to Sir Bunny Bun! Cheers!"

Jack and Carrie clicked their tiny cups together carefully then sipped the iced tea. Jack then got up from his chair and took the tiny teapot from the middle of the table.

"I'll make more tea."

"Thank you, Prince Jack."

Jack opened the door, walked to the other side, and closed it. Then he walked over to the kitchenette. He put the pot on the marble table. He then crouched down and opened the door to the mini bar fridge and brought out a large bottle of iced tea. He then start to refill the teapot.

"This is so embarrassing..."

He wasn't paying attention to the teapot.

"But only for you, Carrie... Only for you."

Then he felt some liquid splash onto his foot. There was iced tea all over the table, floor, and his sneakers.

"Uuugggggghhhhhh! Darn it! These are brand spanking new too!"

Then a wicked cackle filled the room.

"Oh shut it, Corvus!"

Corvus just cackled on.

* * *

Ace and Kelvin were in their blue and orange room. Kelvin was sitting down in a leather reclining chair while Ace was on the balcony.

"Ace, we have that meeting at two, right?"

"Yeah, that's what Nahele said."

"It's crazy how he and Kai are brothers."

"And how they included are nine boys and one girl for their parents."

"I know, right?! I would kill myself the day I had ten kids!"

"You got that right, brother!"

The two began to laugh.

"So, we're going to hit the club later on, right? I heard it's going to be live tonight."

"Of course, Arthur! You can make all kinds of bonds while dancing and having drinks."

The two laughed again.

Kelvin then noticed the little card on top of the mini bar. Curious as to what it was, he got out of his chair and walked over. He then picked it up to read it. Ace noticed and came over to read the card as well.

To the guests of this room,

It has come to our attention that you're of the "partying" crowd. The Ambrosia staff want you two to have a unforgettable experience here at our resort. However, we do not want to ruin this experience for other guests.

So, we have informed all of the resort staff of you two.

It is mandatory that you follow the rules listed below. Otherwise objecting to the following in these rules will result in termination of your time here at the resort.

You are only allowed 5 drinks at any of the resort's bars. You have a curfew of midnight. Also, you have limited access to small children and the children areas of the resort.

Thank you for your consideration. Have a wonderful stay at the Ambrosia Resort at Shining Sun Island.

Sincerely,

The Ambrosia Resort at Shining Sun Island staff

Kelvin and Ace were in complete shock. Their dreams of partying like rock stars were crumbled up and thrown in the garbage like how Kelvin was doing to the card they received the party poopers on.

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-"

* * *

Crystal was in her room. She was on her balcony, looking out into the ocean. She seemed to be thinking of something because of the worried expression she wore on her face.

"This is too strange... Why was that in here?"

Crystal turned around and looked at the white and gold ceremonial outfit on her bed. She began to remember that when she began putting away her clothes, she discovered the outfit hanging in the closet. She was shocked, seeing such a thing there.

"Mother, what does this mean?"

Crystal looked to the sky, hoping someone somewhere gave her an answer.

* * *

Sonia was in her room, sitting on her bed. Her trusty guitar lain nearby her. There were crumbled up balls of paper on the bed, on the floor, everywhere. Sonia was writing something on a paper when she finally came back to the world.

She put her pen down and picked up her Hunter-VGX.

"Hey, Lyra, can you help me out a little."

Lyra popped out of the device.

"Of course, Sonia. What's up?"

"I am writing a new song and I wanted to know if this sounds right."

"Sure! Play it, Sonia."

Sonia grabbed her guitar. She then got off the bed. She put the guitar strap over her shoulder and then stood in front of Lyra.

"Are you ready?"

"Yup!"

Sonia then started to play an upbeat tune on her guitar.

There's another day tomorrow

Just to fall asleep and wake up at midnight

I swear sometimes being alone is a constant fight

"The answer has to be somewhere."

I always questioned that every single time

Until I realized it was already mine

"That's fantastic so far, Sonia! I smell a platinum in the making!"

"Really?! Thanks, Lyra! You're the best!"

"Anytime, Sonia!"

Sonia then plopped back onto her bed and got back to writing with the assistance and support of her Wizard.

* * *

Tia and Dr. Goodall were on the huge balcony in the living room part of Tia's room, sitting and drinking tea together.

Tia looked out into the beautiful view of the ocean.

"This is beautiful, Dr. Goodall. You must know quite a few people to get such great rooms for such low prices."

"Yes. In fact, I'm good friends with the mayor of the island."

"Really? That's pretty interesting. No wonder we got the best for less."

"Yes. But I'm curious about one thing."

Tia put her cup back on the little table between the two.

"One thing?"

"Yes. The mayor said that as long as I brought Crystal with us, we would get the time of our lives."

"That's an odd demand. Why would he ask that?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out as well."

"I better make a mental note of this. He might be associated with the Star Hunters for all we know."

"I don't believe so. He's got a whole island of people to worry about. However, you are right about keeping a watch on him."

And that's what everyone's doing. Now let's go back to Geo and Pat.

* * *

It's 1:30 now, so Pat and I headed down to the lobby. When we arrived there, everyone else except for Bud was there.

I turned to Zack. "Where's Bud?"

"He's not down yet. I bet that he's taking a nap or something-"

Kai butted in. "Oh, we won't be having that."

He pulled out a walkie-talkie from his pocket and began to mumble into it. Five minutes later, two big men in all black threw Bud out of the elevator.

"What the heck?!"

Everyone except for Kai ran over to where Bud was. I helped him up.

"What happened to you?"

"I don't know! I was in dreamland, eating a hill of burgers. All of a sudden, those two hogknockers busted the door down of my room and grabbed me. Now here I am!"

We all turned slowly back to Kai. Kai looked like as if nothing happened. Kai... You better not call those men on me!

"Okay, now that everyone is here, let's head to where the meeting is being held."

Kai began to walk away from us and to glass doors to the right of us. We all followed.

* * *

We finally arrived at our destination. It was a building about 10 stories high. Not unusual. We came inside and saw that many men in suits were walking around. What? Was I supposed to wear a suit or something? I feel so weird.

"This is the Compass Tower. It's the smallest building on the resort. It's primarily used for business and big corporations and such."

That would explain the suits.

We walked up ahead and entered a room. There were a lot of chairs there lined up there.

"This is the North Room. Go on ahead and sit anywhere."

"Alright!"

Everyone sat in the front row. Kai left the room for a moment.

We were there in silence until Bud started the conversation.

"So what do you think we are going to hear?"

"I don't have a clue." I said to join in.

Zack joined in as well. "It might be an informational session about the island."

"That sounds boring."

We all scoffed at Bud's rude remark.

"C'mon, Bud! Learning about the history of the island doesn't sound that bad!"

Pat decided to join in. "It can't be bad as Ms. Literatura's class!"

Bud then laughed. "Anything's better than 45 minutes with that old bat!"

We all burst out laughing.

"You know it'd be funnier if you'd had her again this year!"

"Oh god, don't even say something like that, Jack! You'll jinx it!"

You already know how much Bud hates Ms. Literatura. But you probably don't know he had the elderly reading aficionado for the past three years.

"Just imagine it! Bud cursing up a storm when he gets his schedule! Like-" Jack tried to mimic Bud's voice. "Motherfrick! What the eff is this bullcrap?! Why in the name of burgers am I in Ms. Literatura's class again?!"

Then Zack made the best comment in history. "No. Imagine if Ms. Literatura was Bud's homeroom teacher."

Bud was horrified. "No. No. No. No. Oh lordie, just the thought-!" Bud gave a silly disgusted look on his were on the floor now. Oh goodness, when was the last time I laughed this much.

Then the doors opened from behind us. We all turned to see the people who opened the door were all of the ladies. I also see Kai and a new woman as well. I am betting from those dark pink eyes and sun kissed skin that she is one of the Aulanis. I could be wrong as well because she had hair the color of Ace's neatly pulled up into a ponytail.

"Leilani! I didn't know you did things other than bartending!"

"Oh shut up, Kai!" She then smirked in a playful fashion at Kai. "And besides, the head of staff personally asked me to assist the girls. It's great, too! Now, you boys can't put your dirty hands on Crystal since I'm here!"

Kai looked shocked. "Leilani!"

This new girl chuckled. After she was done, she grabbed Kai by the head.

"Hehe, this is why you're the youngest, Kai! You're the easiest to mess with."

Kai growled but the new girl laughed again. After messing with Kai, the girl came over to us.

She pulled a chair and sat in front of us.

"May the Sun brighten all of your days. I'm Leilani Aulani. You might know that already though. As you can already guess, I'm the one girl out of all the boys."

"But she's basically a man in a woman's body so she is just another boy!"

Leilani snapped her head around. "Shut it, Kai!" Then turned back to us as if nothing happened. "Anyway, I do bartending over at the bar on the beach. So, you'll find me at the beach most of the time. Yeah... And don't even think about asking me on a date! I have you know I've snapped the fingers off of every man who's dared attempted to ask me out!"

"It's a shame. You're one of the most beautiful women on the island. But you scare off every man you meet."

It wasn't Kai who said that, We all turned to find Makani, standing in the doorway. He then began to walk toward us.

"In fact, I think the only way you'd be married is by doing the traditional way."

Leilani immediately gave her brother a "Shut up!" Makani laughed it off and pulled up a seat next to his sister.

"Has Leilani scared you all yet?" Makani asked as he plopped down into the chair.

Leilani looked like she was going to punch something really soon. "Makani, if you don't shut it, you're so getting it in the face!"

Makani laughed again.

Kai walked over to us again. He pulled up a seat between Pat and I. Pretty good spot since he was now directly across from his two siblings.

"Where is everyone else?"

Makani stated the obvious. "I haven't a clue. They seem to be running late."

And with that the doors behind us opened and Dad, Ace, and another of the Aulanis I believe arrived.

This one was another of the many boys in the family. He sported a bird's nest of long pale green hair that was wrapped into low ponytail, sleepy dark pink eyes, and the familiar tan skin many of the other brothers had. I noticed his wrists were adorned with two gold bracelets. The bracelets reminded me of Akamu's.

"Hey, everyone!"

"Hey, balooga whale!"

Ace gave Jack a mean look.

"Why do you call me everything but my name?!"

"Because I think things like blue toad and furry troll would describe you so much better!"

Everyone laughed. Ace looked like he wanted to strangle his brother-in-law.

I then noticed that Leilani was looking at my Dad's bright yellow wristband. She looked over at Ace's and it was the same color as well. Then Leilani's face turned from a flat expression to a smirk to pure laughter.

"So you're the two idiots that got a AWTH warning."

"Wait, what news?" I asked.

"Oh, you didn't know? Those two doofuses got a curfew and a drink cut off." And Leilani cackled again.

"What?! Wow, Dad! You really did it this time!"

"Oh, shut up, Geo!" My dad swiftly responded.

Leilani began to look at me and my Dad as if she was trying to put two and two together. After a while, she made four.

"You're... Father and Son?!"

"Yep!"

Leilani suddenly gave me a death glare. Oh great, she probably just listed me under the AWTH category. Great... Just great...

The guy that came in with Dad finally spoke up.

"Since everyone else is running late, I might as well introduce myself. I'm Nahele. Seeing you already know Kai, I guess he told you I'm one of his brothers. Akamu and I are twins. Please forgive me for being so tired. Those kids... -yawn!-... Wear me out."

Kai asked, "Oh yeah, you work at the daycare center here, right?"

Before Nahele could say what he wanted to say, the doors behind us opened again. In the doors were Akamu and his two other brothers.

The first one had the family pale green hair and dark pink eyes. His hair was styled to flip up in the front and be short and down in the back. He looked pretty angry for some reason. For some reason, Luna's mouth was agape when he came into the room. I don't understand. I mean, he's wearing swim trunks and sandals and not much else... Nevermind.

The second one also had the family hair color and eye color. Part of his hair covered one of his eyes. Despite the mysterious look, that smile of his and warm aura made him seem like the pleasant kind of person.

All three of them said, "How's the Sun being shining on you today, brothers! And Leilani."

The siblings responded, "Great! You?"

"Great as well!"

The scary looking brother looked taken aback when he saw us.

"Wait! The foreigners are here too?!"

The mysterious one karate-chopped the scary one.

"Don't make me burn you, Konani, because you know I will!"

The mysterious one giggled.

"If you do that, I'll play your funeral song."

"Why you little-"

Makani stopped them from continuing.

"Cut it out! You knew for a very long time people from outside the island would be joining us, Keahi."

Akamu also joined in. "C'mon guys. Let's not have an argument today."

The mysterious one and the scary one just sighed.

"Fine. But this isn't over, Konani."

"I know, Keahi. I know."

Akamu smiled. He seems pretty peaceful. "How about you two introduce yourselves to everyone? Mother and Father are on their way from what I heard."

"Fine. I am Keahi. I work as a lifeguard at the beach here."

"Oh yeah, aren't you the reason most people stay away from the beach?"

"Oh shut it! It isn't my fault! You foreigners just fool around too much and I've seen too many get pulled away by a current from fooling around."

"I thought it was because you constantly shout at people for every little thing." Kai said from his seat.

Keahi shot Kai a threatening look. "Oh It's on when we get home, Kai."

"Bring it." Kai smirked.

The mysterious one then joined in. "I am Konani. I work as a waiter in the Music Room restaurant. I also do musical performances there."

Sonia instantly became interested as soon as she heard Konani mention music. Her eyes seemed to twinkle with a new light.

"You like music?"

"Yes, I do. I play many instruments."

"Really?! Which ones?!"

"Let's see... hmm... My main instrument is the flute. However, I also play the guitar, violin, harp, maracas, drums... In fact, I don't even remember how many instruments I've mastered."

Sonia's jaw dropped. I guess she was so surprised that this guy in front of her was so musically talented. Or maybe because he could play more instruments than her?

"Oh yeah, Father said something about a famous singer from your country was in your party. I'm guessing that you are the singer?"

Sonia pulled out that pretty smile and my knees went weak in a second.

"You guessed right! I'm Sonia Strumm. I didn't think there were fans outside of my country."

"Actually, I would have never known you were a singer if Father hadn't told me."

"Yes, indeed- Wait, what?"

"Yes. I've never heard of you until Father told me."

"WHAT?! What about you, Kai?! Didn't you hear of me before my arrival?!"

"Nope."

"NO WAY! What about you, Makani?! You're the smart one!"

Kai, Keahi, and Leilani snapped, "Hey!"

"Sorry, but I've also never heard of you."

"OH C'MON! You can't be serious... Are you sure?"

Sonia went on to name all of her albums and everything about her entire life, each leaving a negative response from all of the siblings. Why do I feel this is deja vu? Hmm... I don't remember...

Anyway, after all of the naming, Sonia crawled into a corner of despair.

Akamu came over and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Don't be unsunny over this. We don't have much contact with foreigners except for the guests at the hotel. Besides, now I know much about you."

Sonia looked up. "Really?"

"Yes, you have plenty of... albums I believe you said. And also you do many... concerts?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Kai stepped in. "You see, Sonia, we don't have much modern technology except for the stuff at the resort."

"Really? That's kind of..."

"Dull? I would agree, but-"

"It's a very sacred tradition of our island." A voice said from behind us all.

We all turned and found a middle-aged man and woman in the doorway. The man had pure white hair, black eyes, and deep tan skin while the woman had midnight blue wavy hair, wrapped up in a ponytail, pink eyes, and the same color skin as the man. The man looked pretty ordinary. The woman looked pretty extraordinary. The woman wore a red and white ceremonial type of dress with a gold headdress and other gold bracelets and anklets. Something about the man and woman gave me this feeling of being around a celebrity or a holy figure.

When the two came in, all of the Aulani siblings and Crystal bowed. All of us foreigners were confused as to why.

"Guys, bow." Crystal whispered.

"Oh!"

We all bowed as well. As I stared at the floor, I could hear a female giggling.

"I can't believe that even my own children bow when I enter a room, hehe!"

I heard footsteps that were moving closer and closer to me.

"Now now, you can all lift all of your heads. I feel so 'special' when you all do that."

"But, sunshine, you're the priestess of Apolo. You're one of the most important people on this island." The deep, lion-like voice from earlier said.

"Oh, Ape!"

Everyone lifted their heads up.

The woman turned and saw Crystal. The woman had to cover her mouth to keep the air down in her throat from the shock she was currently experiencing. She jetted over to Crystal and engulfed her in her arms. I could hear her wailing.

"Oh, Crystal, I've missed you oh so much! We all thought you died!"

"Ms. Noelani..."

The woman let go of Crystal and put her hands on Crystal's shoulders. I could see fresh tears rolling down her tan face.

"I had a vision a couple of months ago that you'd return to the island. I thought it wasn't true. But then Ape said that he heard from a friend that you were in a different country! I ran out of the temple today just so I could see you."

"Ms. Noelani, you shouldn't be doing that for me! Priestess duties come before me!"

"I know, I know! It's just... Your mother... Your mother is always talking to me about you too! Rosalia told me how much she missed and wished that she could just hold you like how she did when you were a baby! And your father, oh goodness, your Jasper is always complaining about how you're growing up too fast!"

Wait... What? Did she just say that Crystal's mother and father... Wait, Crystal's dead mother and father were talking to her?! What-What's going on here?!

"Ms. Noelani..."  
Noelani continued to cry. Leilani had to help console her mother. At this, Noelani let go of Crystal and Leilani sat her down to help her calm down.

The man came over and gave Crystal a bear hug and spun her around in the air.

"Uncle Ape!"

"My dear goddaughter! We are all glad you have returned."

After a little more of hugging, the two let go of each other. The man turned to the guests of the hotel.

"Ah, Dr. Goodall, it's been awhile since I last talked to you."

"Yes, it has. I thought you were joking that you had a lot of kids. I guess that is the first game I've lost."

"Hahaha! Yes it is, Doctor."

Noelani finally calmed down. She wiped the last of her tears

"Welcome to Shining Sun Island, my friends! I am Apehalama Aulani, the mayor of this town" Apehalama moved his hand over, signaling to look at the woman next to him. "And this is my wife, Noelani Aulani, the current Priestess of Apolo."

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm sorry about my emotional outburst from a moment ago."

"It's alright. We understand."

Noelani smiled at us.

"And I see you all met my many children."

Noelani giggled at that.

I turned and realized how much the parents look like their parents. The boys all looked like their father, having only their mother's pink eyes. And Leilani looked as beautiful as her mother, having Apehalama's black eyes. I turned back and noticed that Noelani was speaking.

"Priestesses of the island are very important people on this island. They are the only people who can talk to Apolo and they are the only ones who can foresee Apollo's will. I also have the ability to speak with deceased priestesses and those who are related to them."

Oh, so that explains why Miss Noelani was saying earlier that she was talking to Crystal's parents. And it's pretty cool that she is also the priestess on the island.

Apehalama continued for his wife. "The children of the priestess become Signs of the Elements when they come of age."

"Signs of what?"

Kai decided to tell us what she meant.

"A Sign is a person who represents an element of Earth. For example, I recently became the Sign of the Ocean."

Crystal looked pleasantly surprised. "Oh wow, Kai! Congratulations! I can't believe you're already of age!"

Kai just nervously smiled like how I do when I am with Sonia. "I was a little surprised too when Mother said I was ready. All of that training paid off! Uh- where was I... Ah, yes! Signs are very important people too. In fact, we are second to the priestess according to social ranking!"

"Really?!"

"Yep."

Makani came in. "We might as well tell you all our elements, right?"

All of the Aulani siblings nodded their heads.

Makani said, "I am the Sign of the Sky."

Konani said, "I am the Sign of the Sound."

Akamu said, "I'm the Sign of the Brown Earth!"

Keahi said, "I'm the Sign of the Molten Earth!"

Nahele said, "And I'm the Sign of the Green Earth - yawn!"

Everyone except for Leilani said the element they represent.

"What about you, Leilani?"

"Leilani can't be a Sign. She is going to be a priestess like me soon."

"WHAT?!"

"That's right. The first daughter in our family line always becomes the Priestess of Apolo after marriage."

"Wow, that's pretty cool!"

Noelani giggled, while Leilani looked pretty ticked off. I'm guessing being a priestess is not her way of having fun.

"Anyway, I'll now all tell you about this island's histor-"

"Uncle Ape, I already told them."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, I told them at the airport"

"And even the ambro-"

"Yes, even the Ambrosia legend"

"You've always been a step ahead of me, even when you were a child."

Crystal giggled.

"I guess we should just get down to business."

Everyone sat down in their chairs.

"You see, our Twilight Festival has been canceled for the 6th time in a row."

"What?! Why?!"

"Because there is no Priestess of Artema to lead the event... Well, until now."

"Wah- What do you mean?"

Apelahama walked behind Crystal's chair and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"What? Crystal never told you? She's the daughter of the priestess of Artema."

"WHAT?!"

What the heck?! This is crazy! Crystal's the daughter of the priestess! Then that means that-

Noelani said, "Yes. Crystal's mother, Rosalia Quartz, was the last priestess of Artema before she passed, may the Sun shine on her soul."

"And you can probably already guess. Crystal is the next in line now that her mother is gone."

"W-What?! This- This can't be true, right, Crystal?"

Crystal was still looking into her lap.

"Crystal?"

Crystal seemed she was about to say something but Apelahama said something.

"We would like Crystal to lead the festival this year."

Crystal finally stood up.

"You know I can't do that, Ape. That means I would have to become a priestess and priestesses have to be married."

"But Crystal, you do remember you're engaged, right? There can be an exception."

"What?..." I heard Pat mumble from his spot next to me.

All of the Aulani brothers said, "You heard right! Crystal's engaged!"

I looked into Pat's face and he looked as if a part of his heart was ripped out of him, leaving behind a sad, lonely shell. Why does he looked so depressed? Shouldn't he be shocked, like how everyone else is? It's not like he likes Crystal or anything.

"That's right! You see, Crystal was arranged to marry my eldest son when she turned sixteen. That's the tradition of the ruling families of each island. Two days after she was born, he suddenly left the island. Then I went to my second eldest. The same happened too. After my third son, I decided that I would just give up. Around when Crystal was six, I finally broke the news to my children. Kai, Keahi, Konani, Akamu, and Nahele begged me to change my mind because they were all in love with Crystal at the time."

The Aulani brothers that were mentioned said together, "And we still are!"

"WHAT?!"

"So I decided that the rest of my children, including Makani and Leilani, could compete for Crystal's heart!"

"Wait, what?! Isn't Makani-"

"Yes, I'm 9 years older than Crystal. I was a little surprised when Father told me that when I was 17. And a little disturbed." Makani tucked his glasses back up his nose.

"And what about Leilani?! Isn't she a girl?!"

"That's what I said. When I asked Father about this, he said that as long as Crystal was married, she could become the priestess"

"But what about children?!"

"I also asked him that. Guess what he said. Experimentation can lead to good results!"

All of our faces turned bright red.

"But wait, aren't you getting married yourself, Leilani?" I accidentally let slip out.

"What was that?" Leilani gave me such a death glare.

Ah crap. Just when you thought everything was going to be alright. Nice going, Geo.

"I- I'm sorry if I assumed! It's just that you said earlier that in order to become a priestess, you have to marry someone. And Leilani's becoming one soon, so I just automatically thought-"

"You're right, Geo."

A hand touched my shoulder and it was Miss Noelani.

"Leilani's getting married."

Everyone was a little shocked. I looked over at Crystal and she looked beyond shocked. She covered her mouth, holding back her gasp.

"What?! You're getting married?! Since when?!"

"Since never! I'm not marrying that idiot!"

"Leilani, listen to what you're saying!" Apehalama said.

"No, listen to what you're saying! You're forcing me to marry a foreigner for goodness sake! You know good and well the foundation of this island was based off the fear of foreigners! Also that man is just going to use me to become the-"

"SILENCE!"

My heart dropped from Apehalama's roar.

"Leilani, you will marry that man, you hear me?!"

"Father... Why- Why have you changed so much?!"

And with that, Leilani speeded out of the room, with Crystal soon following behind.

Kai tried to run after his sister and Crystal but Makani grabbed him.

"Leave the two of them alone, Kai. You already know we have no way of being able to console them."

"But-... Fine..." Kai said, defeated.

After Noelani successfully calmed down her husband, Apehalama continued.

"I apologize, my friends, for what happened. Leilani has always been cross with this subject."

"But is Leilani really getting married?" Dr. Goodall asked.

"Yes. She's arranged to be marrying the son of the CEO of the resort you're currently standing on."

"What?!"

"I know. I am still untrustworthy of his son. He's not the kind of man I would want to give my daughter away to. However, I have no choice."

"No choice?"

"This island has lost all of its former glory after the Day the Sun Didn't Shine. Soon, a new priestess will be needed. And no one will marry Leilani. I personally feel that without a priestess, this island will fall to ruin."

"Fall to ruin?" Bud and Zack asked.

"Yes. The priestess is the true leader of this island. Without her, the island will lose their one true link to Apolo. And without that link, neighbors will fight neighbors. And with that, the island will fall to ruin. I truly feel if Leilani doesn't marry, then it will be the Precursor to Ruin."

The Precursor to Ruin... I've heard this before. It involved three ancient tribes that roamed on the Earth before the technological era began: Zerker, Ninja, and Saurian. Over time, each of the three tribes had internal fighting due to the destruction of bonds. Due to this, the three tribes died out and were taken over by Mu.

Does Apehalama believe that what happened then will cause the island to fall to ruin now?

"That's terrible, Apelahama." Dr. Goodall said.

"It truly is. I feel helpless in a situation like this."

Noelani rubbed her husband's back.

"Oh, Ape, you shouldn't feel that way. There are some things we just can't do."

"I know, I know. It's just that... I feel she hates me for this."

"Don't think that way. Leilani was already very cross with marriage anyway."

"But why though?"

"Ape, even the gods don't know."

Apehalama's expression somewhat lifted.

"So I guess those two ran off to their special spot?"

"I'm pretty sure they did. I wonder where it is anyway..."

"Well, I guess we should all leave now. I'm sorry that I held you up for so long."

"It's all right, Apelahama. We learned a lot today." Dr. Goodall said.

"That's very good. Now, I must take my leave. Noelani, let's go back to the shrine."

"We should. The Temple guards are probably freaking out." Noelani giggled.

"May the Sun brighten your day today."

"May the Sun brighten your day, too!"

Before the two left, Noelani stopped for a second. She went over to where Ace was. Ace was a little surprised by this. Noelani gave a motherly smile to him. She soon connected her forehead with his. I believe she said something along the lines of "May Apollo bless your heart..." Ace quickly went away from her, a little shaken up by what she did.

"I'm sorry if I startled you. Most foreigners get what you people call 'weirded out' when I do something like that."

"It's alright, but... why?"

"I don't know. You just... I feel that we have some sort of connection, like a familial one. It's odd, I've never felt such a connection with a stranger before."

Noelani left with her husband back to where she was supposed to be. Soon after, we all filed out of the room and headed back to our hotels on the resort.

* * *

When we had arrived back in our room two hours ago, Pat and I set up the duties for the room. We both agreed that we should keep our rooms as clean as possible so we don't give the maids a hard time. I would also make sure the balcony stays neat while Pat makes snacks... Wait... We don't even have anything to cook with in the kitchen. How would he be able to... Ah crap, I've been duped again. Darn it, Pat!

It's about 6 pm now. Pat and I put on our pajamas and headed out to the balcony to watch the sunset.

"And that's how I destroyed the Super Roach."

"Wow, Geo, you're not good with bugs, are you? And also, judging by the size of the insect, that wasn't a roach. That was a water bug."

"Water bug, roach, what's the difference?! They have no purpose on this planet except to scare the crap out of me! Besides, that thing was bigger than my foot, and I wear a size 10!"

Pat laughed.

"And it's also funny how your mother's size 7 foot killed it as soon as she saw it!"

"She's probably a ninja or something... Wait..."

A light bulb went off in my head and I immediately got out of my chair.

"Pat, I think I figured it out!"

"Figured what out?"

"I think my mom's a ninja!"

Pat looked at me funny. "Geo, that's the most ridiculous idea you've ever come up with!"

"Think about it. Dad has been married for how many years now and he still has no idea what she does for a living? She also earns double the amount my Dad does annually, and Dad gets paid a lot! Also, she has cat-like reflexes and has quite the heavy hand. With all of this said, I conclude that my mother has to be a ninja!"

Pat cocked his head to the side and began to think. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide as if he just realized something.

"Oh my gosh! Geo, I think you're right! Your mom has to be a ninja!"

"We have to tell Dad about this in the morning!"

"He'll probably it's stupid but I'll support you anyway!"

Suddenly the sky went dark. The Sun left and now the Moon came out. I looked into the sky and saw the most beautiful stars.

"Wow! Pat, look at the sky!"

I pointed excitedly at the night sky. Pat looked up and he was amazed.

"This is gorgeous!"

"This is probably the most I've ever seen the stars before! The streetlights in Echo Ridge light up the sky too much for me to be able to see many of the stars- Oh, look! I can see the Southern Cross from here!"

"The Southern what?"

I pointed over to show him what I meant. "The Southern Cross! It's a constellation!"

"Cool... Do you mean Crux by any chance?

"Sure do!"

"But isn't that supposed to be in Ausland right now?"

"Uh..."

I realized my mistake instantly. This constellation I was looking at wasn't the Crux, it was the False Cross. Most stargazers often mistake the two. The Southern Cross is kite-shaped and five stars. The False Cross is diamond-shaped and has four stars. Oh, what a noobie mistake I made. As Pat saw me in my despair, he chuckled.

"Shhhh, Pat."

Pat continued to laugh. We ended up not talking for the rest of the evening as we gazed at the gorgeous stars from above us. As we hung our arms off the railing, the summer breeze swayed against our dog tags.

And that's how the first day of my vacation ended. Many things have still been unanswered for me. I guess the mysteries of this island will be revealed during my vacation. But for now, I'll let the stars have my attention.


	12. Chapter 11

**[AN: Hiya guys! It's been a full freaking year! I am so happy that I can finally get back to writing this! I'm sorry for my absence. Plenty of you know already why I stopped writing! Please forgive me. This is a pretty crappy chapter. This is where I stopped writing in my story. I'm rushing some things a little so the original pace can go back. In about 3 or 4 chapters, new characters will appear! And it will get awesome! I swearrrrrrrr! So anyway, without any further waiting, I hope you enjoy this chapter!]**

Chapter 12 - Nightmare

"Where am I?"

A minute ago, I was in my hotel room. Now all of a sudden, I'm in pure darkness. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't even see myself. Great. Just great.

I began to walk around, hoping I can find some form of light in this seemingly endless abyss. It was like one of those times when, at four in the morning, you had to go use the bathroom. None of the lights were on in the house, so instead of trying to find a light, you would just try to find your way down the hall, sliding against a wall for some support. There were no walls I could find for me to glaze my fingers along. This thing you call a floor doesn't feel like the familiar hardwood floors back at home. Just where the heck am I?

I suddenly felt something cool brush against my feet. A shiver ran down my spine.

"Omega-Xis, is that you?"

No response.

I felt the coldness run across my feet again.

"Okay, Omega-Xis, stop playing around"

No response.

"This isn't funny! You know how I am about this kind of stuff! Stop messing with me, Omega-Xis!"

The cold came back. Hard. It just didn't hit my feet- it hit my entire body. The wind and cold made me feel like I was in the middle of a blizzard with only pajamas on. I covered my face with my forearms, trying to thwart this horrid opponent before me. I tried to step forward, but the wind caught me off guard. It went right under my foot, causing me to trip. Instead of landing on the ground, I was swept up into the wind and flew backward with the wind.

* * *

As soon as I was in the air was as soon as I landed back on the ground. My eyes were shut closed from fear of seeing where I am now. I wiggled my toes and felt the wetness below me. It was soft yet sharp... Pretty prickly... Grass, maybe?

I opened my eyes wide, before shutting them tight again. Geez, the light burned my eyes! It definitely seems I'm not in darkness anymore. I seem to be in a field of dewy grass. I looked around, trying to figure out more of my surroundings. Okay, the grass is green, the sky is blue... Yep, pretty normal. But I still want to know where the heck am I!

"Hee hee!" Out of nowhere, I heard giggling from behind me. I turned around and found a woman and a little girl sitting down on the grass. In that patch though, out of all the grass, was growing little white flowers. The little girl was picking the flowers and weaving them into what looks like a flower crown. The woman watched the child with caring eyes as the child worked.

After the little girl put the last flower on, she smiled happily. "Mommy, Mommy, look! I did it!" The little one showed the woman the finished crown.

Her woman said, smiling, "It looks beautiful, Crystal! But it looks too big for your head"

"I know, because it's for you!"

The little girl placed the crown on her mother's head. The little one got up from her little spot.

"I'm going to make more too! I'm going to make one for Daddy! And Kai! And Keahi! And Akamu! And Nahele! And Makani! And Leilani! And Miss Noelani! And Uncle Ape!"

"Oh Crystal, you're going to be quite busy, aren't you?"

"Yep!"

The two chuckled, sitting next to each other in the grass.

"I love you Mommy!"

"I love you too! Oh so much"

The two hugged each other. As I saw the woman and child hug, I realized something very important. The woman has been calling this girl Crystal. Is this just a coincidence or...

"Daddy!" The little girl said.

The child let go of her mother and began to run towards me. I quickly yelled for her to stop but she wouldn't. I closed my eyes and hid myself, preparing for impact. I didn't feel anything happen to me. I looked and saw that she was already behind me. Does that mean that she just passed right through me? But how is this even possible? Doesn't she see me? Now, I'm getting confused!

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

"Okay, settle down, Crystal! Your energy is too much for your old man!"

I just noticed that the child had ran over to a man. He lifted up the girl happily. The girl flying up in the air giggled.

"Jasper, I'm glad to see you're home early" The woman said.

She got up off the grass and walked over to where the man and her daughter were.

"Of course, Rose! I heard that my daughter was making a gift for me! So I wanted to be home so that I could see what is was!" The man replied.

The daughter suddenly flushed. The father realized what happened and laughed. He also noticed the flower crown on the mother. He laughed even more.

"Hahaha! You were going to make a flower crown for me! But you made your mother's first!"

"... Sorry, Daddy"

"It's alright! Let's make one together! You make mine and I'll make yours!"

The daughter led her father to the field her mother and her were sitting in earlier. The mother giggled and walked back shortly after them. As the daughter began to show her father how to make one, he kept on messing up.

"Uh, Crystal Quartz! You're much better than I'll ever be at making flower crowns!"

The girl giggled and the mother laughed watching the man's frustration. Soon, the man was laughing too and the family was laughing all together like any happy family would.

So, _now_ I've figured it out. This is a memory of Crystal's childhood. This is a very happy one too. I'm guessing the woman is Crystal's mother, Rosalia, and the the man is Crystal's father, Jasper. They all seem to be such a happy family.

Suddenly, the wind that swept me off my feet earlier came back. I was soon back in the air heading to another location.

* * *

I was now what seemed to be a bedroom. There was Crystal again, lying in bed. She was breathing rapidly and sweating buckets. Her father sat next to her, worried sick about something. Rosalia came into the room. She looked as concerned as her husband.

"I came as soon as I could. What happened, Jasper?"

"I don't know. Kai told me that she fell over while they were playing today. Then Crystal wouldn't wake up. Kai carried Crystal all the way to the temple gate to see me. I took Crystal and told Kai to not tell his family about what happened"

"Okay, good. Is it_ that _again?"

"Yes. It's glowing"

Jasper lifted Crystal's bangs from her head to reveal her Star Guardian mark. It was glowing a deep red.

"This is the first time the Mark of Destiny is glowing. This is not a good sign"

"Indeed. This means her destiny is getting closer"

Jasper got up from his seat to be able to conversate eye-to-eye with his wife.

"I don't understand why Crystal has this curse on her. It's just not fair! She's only a child"

"I know, Jasper... I know"

"We must protect her at all costs"

The couple hugged each other as they watched their dear daughter lie sickly in bed.

A curse?... Do they mean that they don't know what is really happening... That Crystal is a Star Guardian?... And she could fall into the wrong hands?...

The wind took me away again.

* * *

Crystal was dashing through a forest, dodging every tree with scary accuracy. She was out of breath and covered in sweat from what I have seen so far. I could see something gleam in her eyes that I don't ever see- fear. She was afraid, deathly afraid, of something. Was she running away from it or running toward it? I couldn't figure it out in time as she made it out of the forest.

Crystal was now out of the forest and dashing across a area of scarce land. She ran and ran, until her legs gave out halfway through her run across the area. She fell flat on her face, not able to get back up. She tried to get back up but she was unable to stand. So she attempted dragging herself across the dead earth.

Before she could even get started, two dark figures popped out of the forest. They landed right in front of Crystal, encircling the poor girl. I don't recognize the two figures but I can tell by their dark armor that A) They are EM Wave Changers and B) They look evil.

"Well, well," one of them said, "Look what we have here. It's the Star Guardian we've been searching for"

"Indeed. You know, kiddo, you've given us quite the hard time now. We just need you and our project can continue forward. But unlike the rest, you can run. But oh well, now. Now if you just come with us nicely-"

A huge gust of wind came at the two menacing men. It swept them away from Crystal. A figure came out of the bushes. I recognize that long hair from anywhere. It was Makani, wielding a gold staff. He ran over to Crystal to protect her.

"Makani!" Crystal said, absolutely glad to see her dear friend.

"Crystal, are you alright?!" He asked, still in a fighting stance.

"Y-Yes!"

One of the grunts, now fallen next to a tree, was trying to get back up to fight. He immediately stopped though when a piece of metal went flying right at him. It barely missed his head- only a near inch from injury.

The piece of metal was thrown from Leilani. She dashed out of the bushes, some more pieces of metal in between her fingers. She ran over to stand next to Makani.

"Leilani, you too?!" Crystal asked in disbelief.

"Of course!" Leilani said "I don't know who those guys are but I don't want them anywhere near you!"

The grunts said, "Guh! We'll get you next time!" and zapped away from teh three of them.

Makani finally eased his shoulders and stood up, while Leilani helped Crystal back onto her feet.

"You okay?" Leilani asked

"Yes. I'm fine now"

Suddenly, Crystal's mother and father came out of the forest and ran over to where Crystal was.

"Crystal, are you alright?!" Crystal's mother shouted.

"Yes!"

Jasper lifted Crystal up into his arms. The family was about to leave before Jasper stopped.

"Makani, Leilani... Don't tell anyone about what happened... Can you promise me that?"

The two silbings were shocked. "What?! What do you mean-"

"Can you promise me that?!"

The two looked at each other, a bit frightened by how Jasper was reacting. I was a bit scared to. Crystal's Dad reminds me of my dad: Mellow and caring. And whenever Dad gets serious, I get scared too.

"Yes... We won't tell anyone anything" Makani said.

"This secret goes to our graves..." Leilani continued for her brother.

Jasper quietly said, "Good..." and continued walking with his wife home.

* * *

It was nighttime now. I wasn't in the forest from before. Instead, I was on what seemed to be a stage. It was of marble stone, carved with exotic markings. The only lights were that of the moon and of the fire-lit torches surrounding the area. There were a lot of people seated outside the stage, as if they were spectators to something that was about to happen. I looked around more on the stage and noticed that Rosalia was in the center of it, kneeling.

I heard an organ start playing a suspenseful tone. Crystal's mother slowly got up from her place on the stage and started to sing. Her voice sounded like an opera singer's voice. It was just amazing- Like an angel's almost. I can see where Crystal got her voice from.

As she sung, I looked around to find that a young Crystal and Kai were amongst the spectators surrounding the stage. They listened intently to Rosalia's song. Crystal was looking at her mother with sparkles in her eyes. I suddenly heard Crystal's thoughts.

"_Wow... Mommy looks beautiful as ever on the stage. She dances with such grace, and she sings with such beauty! She really is an goddess, like how some of the villagers describe her. One day I want to be up there with Mommy, singing and dancing with her! I want to be a goddess, too! I want to become the priestess so bad! So that I can be up there on stage and sing the song that's always sung on the Twilight Festival night and become the inner goddess in me!"_

When Crystal stopped thinking, Rosalia's song neared its ending. Suddenly the sky was become lighter and the sun was starting to rise. When the sun rose, Rosalia ended her song. The audience gave a thunderous applause to Crystal's mother. Kai and Crystal were clapping too. Rosalia caught a glimpse of her daughter and Kai, and she had hello by blowing a kiss their way. They both turned red. When seeing this, Rosalia smiled.

After Rosalia left the stage and the crowd left, Kai and Crystal were talking.

"Wow... Your mother is always so graceful on stage! She really is an goddess like how everybody in town says" Kai said.

"I know! She's so beautiful... and gracefully... and angelic..." Crystal saying, going off slightly.

Kai put his hands on his hips and said, "Let me guess, you can't wait to be the priestess?"

"Not at all!"

"But you have to be of age and you have to be married"

"Ooo! I wish I would 16 already!"

"And as you know, I'll gladly provide the marriage part-"

Suddenly, Kai was tackled to the ground. The person who did this was none other than the child version of Keahi. "Who said anything about you marrying Crystal?! She's mine!" Keahi said.

Suddenly, a child version of Konani jumped on top of the two of them. "No, she's mine!" Konani said, grabbing Keahi in a choking hold.

Suddenly, all three of them were jumped by Nahele's younger version. "Nuh-uh! She's mine!" Nahele said, not being sleepy for the first time in a while.

Then Akamu appeared and all four of them screamed in terror. Akamu landed on them and nearly squashed them like ants. "No, Crystal's mine!" Akamu said.

"No, she's mine!" Kai said.

The five were wrestling each other now. Crystal was pretty freaked out. What was she going to do? Five boys were going into an all-out wrestling match over her!

Before Keahi could claw at Nahele, a teenage version of Makani lifted the two by the back of their shirts. And a teenage version of Leilani soon followed, grabbing Kai and Konani.

"Quit it, you idiots!" Makani and Leilani said in unison.

The boys stopped fighting and the two older siblings let go of the four they were holding.

"But who is Crystal going to choose?!" Konani asked.

The five looked at each other and were instantly got on one leg and looked at Crystal endearingly. "Who do you choose, Crystal?!" The five asked.

Crystal happily responded, "None"

The five were in pure shock and Leilani snickered. The five boys were heartbroken.

"I- I'll never give up on you Crystal!" Kai said.

"Yeah! Never!" The other four said.

Makani and Leilani burst into laughter.

"It's unbelievable how you guys continue to pursue her even though she has denied you all how many times, Makani?" Leilani said, before turning her brother.

Makani answered, "About 70 times this year so far"

Crystal giggled. The five looked at her. "I'm sorry guys! No matter how much you love me, I'll forever think of you all as my closest friends!" She said.

The boys were quite surprised. Then they puffed their cheeks up and pointed at Crystal. "One day, Crystal, I'll get you to fall for me!" The five said in unison. They all made a dash for it, leaving Crystal, Makani and Leilani alone.

"I'll see you, Leilani, when you get home. May the Sun shine on both your paths"

As Makani left, Leilani and Crystal said their customary goodbyes to him. In a matter of minutes, the two were alone to talk with each other.

"You really don't like them, do you?"

"Not one bit. They truly and forever will be my friends"

Leilani chuckled. "They are such idiots! But, as Dad says, being an idiot is part of being young, right?"

"Yep!"

"Hey, I'll race ya to our spot! Ready... Go!"

The two girls ran all the way -even island hopped- from their place at the stage to Shinging Sun Island. By the time they made it to the spot they were talking about, both were utterly exhausted. The place they were now at was a beautiful beach with such a amazing view of the ocean. The sand looked as if no man had ever touched it before. Well, I can guess that would be true. The area was so secluded to the rest of the island that no one would probably be able to find such a place. So this must be the spot Leilani and Crystal ran to earlier today. When Leilani was crying...

Before I can think about what happened today, Leilani was speaking. Leilani and Crystal were laying down on the sand, breathing harshly

"Aren't you *huff* tired? You should be exhausted from *huff* being up *huff* all night" Leiland asked.

"I'm *huff* used to it. I train my powers *huff* a lot *huff* at night, so I'm used to being up *huff* at this hour"

Leilani looked absolutely shocked. "Crystal! You know that's not good for your health!"

"I know that! But... *huff* I want to be the priestess of Artemis so bad!"

Crystal got up from her spot on the sand. "I want Artemis to hear my voice all the way from wherever she is in this world or another! I want her to hear my song and smile whenever she hears it! I want to be an goddess too!"

Leilani looked a little surprised then frowned. "You want to be the priestess that bad?"

"Of course!"

"Just be careful. Remember you have to _marry _before you can be Artemis' priestess" Leilani really emphasized that last detail.

"I know that-"

Leilani had gotten up and put her hands on Crystal's tiny shoulders. "I'm being serious, Crystal. You can't just marry anyone just so you can be a priestess! And divorces are forbidden on the island!"

"I know that, Leilani. It's just..."

Crystal look over at the sea. She was looking at it as if she were looking for an answer.

"I'm not sure if the real person for me is out there..."

"I'm sure he is... Just... Just look for him!... Or something like that"

Leilani scratched her head and Crystal giggled.

"Let's head back. Both of our mothers are probably worried!" Crystal said.

"You're right!"

As the two got up, the wind that took me back and forth came again.

* * *

I was in what seemed to be Crystal's home now. Crystal's face has slimmed down and her hair is much longer than before. She's grown up. This time the happiness of the family seemed to have been left somewhere else. Everyone looked worried or scared. I looked out a window and saw something that scared me to death- a huge landmass. I'm not kidding. A huge island was literally right above us. The only time something like this could have happened was when... Mu fell from the sky... I am guessing that "the day the sky fell" regards to this day.

"Father! I can't leave!" Crystal said.

"Crystal! You have to! If something were to happen to the Land of the Sky People, then this island would be destroyed. And out of everything, I don't want you to be destroyed along with it!" Jasper said.

"Please, Father! I- I just can't leave you two here to die!"

"I understand that, Crystal. But you have to go now!"

"But why can't you both just come with me?!"

Rosalia said, surprisingly calm, "Crystal, you know that priestesses of Artemis are to never step foot off of this island except for ceremonial reasons"

"I know that! But-"

"No buts, Crystal. I made a promise to Artemis that I would never leave this island except when I'm doing a ceremony on her brother's island. And I'm not planning on breaking it"

"And I'm to protect the priestess and my wife whether death were to come to me or not!"

"So Crystal, what we're saying is that we are obliged to stay here while you aren't"

Crystal began to tear up. Crystal said, "But I'll be all alone, Mommy"

"I know you will, Crystal. So I want you to have this"

Rosalia reached her hands behind her neck and took off the necklace that connected with the piece of quartz she always wore around her neck. She gave it to Crystal.

"I want you to have this. This is the best way for you to feel happy when you're alone" Rosalia said.

"Are- Are you sure?"

"Yes"

Jasper said, "And I want you to have Stella with you"

"Stella?! I thought that she wouldn't become my Partner until I was 14?!"

"I know that, but... This case is much more understandable in this situation. Stella, where are you?!"

Stella appeared. "Rosalia. Jasper. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" She said, giving a slight bow.

"It has", Jasper said, "You know what time it is, right?"

"I do and I know why you're allowing this to happen even though Crystal isn't old enough"

Stella looked out the window, signifying what she meant. Suddenly, the Earth below us rumbled.

"I think you should be going now, Crystal!" Jasper said.

Stella and Jasper began to try to figure out how to get Crystal out of there. Meanwhile, Rosalia was talking with Crystal.

Rosalia put her hands on her daughter's shoulder, holding them firmly. She stared deep into her daughter's purple eyes.

"Crystal, heed my words: You must find the White Knight."

"The White Knight?"

"Yes. This person will help you on your journey to your destiny. If you don't find him, you could end up in harm's way"

"The White Knight... I will find him, Mother"

"Good" Rosalia kissed Crystal's forehead, right where her bangs covered the Star Guardian mark on Crystal's head. Crystal gave her Mother a big hug, one that she didn't want to be let out from. I can hear the two whisper to each other a soft "I love you" to each other.

As they hugged, Jasper came over to the two women. Crystal and her Mother reluctantly let go of each other. Jasper began to talk to Crystal.

"Remember, Crystal. That mark on your head signifies your destiny. Those who can help your destiny can see it. And so can those who want to destroy your destiny. Keep it hidden at all times, okay?"

"Yes Father"

"And don't trouble Stella! Even though she cannot touch you doesn't mean you can take advantage of her kindness"

"Yes Father"

"And make sure you eat right!"

"Yes Father"

"And one final thing"

"Y-Yes, Father?..."

"... I love you... I always will" Jasper pulled Crystal into one final embrace. He kissed the top of his beloved daughter's head, right where her bangs covered her Star Guardian mark.

"I- I love you so much, Father"

Jasper let go of his daughter and began to lead her off to where Stella was floating, holding her hand like how a parent would hold his little girl's hand. But as Crystal walked, she let her father's hand slide from hers. I can see the anguish in his eyes. The anguish of how fast his little girl grew up set in/. His little chick was leaving the nest to go fly on her own too early.

I can tell: He wanted her to be his little Crystal again, making flower crowns on fields of flowers again.

It reminds me of my first day of high school. My day was there and proud of me. But out of every parent, he was crying. When I got home from school and asked him why, he simply said, "I missed it when you first started middle school. Now that I finally saw you start a new part of your life for the second time in my life, I couldn't help but get emotional. You're growing up too fast! I wanted you to stay my little champ for a while longer"

Every parent goes through this, according to what my parents told me. And right now, this is probably the worst feeling Jasper can have right now.

Stella raised her hands and a blue light emitted from them. A soft breeze let itself into the room, flowing through everyone's hair and clothes.

Rosalia said, right before her daughter left, "Crystal, you are truly the only hope left for the people of Crescent Moon Island. You will probably have no idea when you'll return, but... When you do, you'll have the power of a true priestess!"

"Mother..."

Crystal and Stella suddenly left the house, never to return ever again. And I went along with the two for the ride.

We reappeared in a forest. Well, more like a jungle. We were surrounded by endless amounts of green. The sounds of insects and bustling leaves echoed throughout the forest. I didn't care about this though. All I could look at was Crystal, who was sitting on a tree trunk in fetal position. She looked terrified, slightly rocking back and forth, knees and arms crushed close to her chest. Stella was floating next to her, watching Crystal in her shaken state. The silence between the two spoke volumes of how tense the two were.

Stella couldn't do anything at that point to comfort Crystal. Absolutely nothing. Because there was no words one can say when something like this happens. Crystal was suddenly thrust into a journey she probably wasn't prepared for. Her parents gave her some advice, a friend, a necklace, and boom- see you later! Now she landed smack dab into a forest, practically all alone. And Crystal was thinking the worst right now. Her mind was a gathering of different voices and whispers, all saying the different thoughts shooting across her.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, where am I? How did I get here?"**Am I alone? **_Where's Kai? Where's Mother and Father? What is happening? _**Am I alone? I'm pretty sure I'm alone! **_**Oh god, why is this happening to me?! **_**I am so alone! **_Somebody help me! _What about the land above my island?! Oh Crap, I forgot about that! _HELP ME PLEASE!_ EVERYONE'S GONE! _**OH GOD, What's going**_-"

"La, la, la, la... La, la, la, la... La, la, la, la, la, la, la, laaa..."

Did I just hear. The song that Crystal's mom sung. At the ceremony scene. Just a while ago?

Was it a message from her mother? I don't know. Was it a secret message or something? I don't know. Because Crystal definitely understood.

Crystal fell off the tree stump and starting wailing on the ground below. She was bawling her eyes out. She finally understood it. And I understood it too, as I heard the soft sound of a large building tumbling downward from afar: Crystal's parents are gone.

"_Mother... Father... Why? WHY?! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!" _

Crystal grasped onto the necklace in her hand as if it was the only thing keeping her alive.

"_Why are you two so stubborn?! You could've bro_ke the promise to Artemis! You could've stayed with me! Now I'm all alone!"

I felt something wet drip on one of my bare toes. I didn't realize it but I was crying. I have witnessed the death of Crystal's beloved parents. I witnessed how all of Crystal's happiness was taken away from her at that one moment. I saw her experience what death truly felt like for someone who just lost their parents. I finally understand why Crystal has those weird smiles. She is hiding the fact that she is alone.

And what was I doing while Crystal was suffering? I was finishing off Le Mu. That's right, I was fighting Le Mu to prevent the world from being taken over. I was being a hero and helping to save the world, but... I... If I hadn't come after Le Mu, then... Crystal's parents wouldn't have died... I wasn't a savior for humanity! I basically cause their deaths! This... This is all my fault!

As I continued to cry, I didn't realize the wind came for me again.

* * *

I stopped crying when I realized where I was: Home. I was now in Wilshire Hills, inside a huge crowd. I felt so relieved. I am home! I can finally just get on a bus and go home!

A person ran through me.

Great... So I am not home. Then is this a continuation of this odd dream?

Out of all the mixed noises of people talking, walking, running -everyday things in general- I could hear this loud clicking from behind me. I slowly turned to see, it was Crystal again, looking as how I usually see her. She was walking slowly, kitten heels making that loud clicking from earlier. Not far behind was Stella, faithfully following her partner-in-crime.

"So this is Echo Ridge... What a odd town this is"

"It is. This just shows how technologically advanced the countries surrounding our little home are"

Crystal looked around again until she heard an explosion. She snapped her head around to where the source of the explosion was. People started running away from it, but Crystal and Stella stood still. I looked and noticed that Crystal's eyes turned red. That means that...  
I looked up and saw myself as Mega Man and Dark Phantom. The two of us -well, I should say three because of Omega-Xis- were standing on a Wave Road, about to duke it out.

"Dark Phantom! Stop this at once!"

"Well, well, well, look who it is? it's Mega Man, coming to save the day again, right? This definitely wasn't in the script this time!"

"Whatever!" Omega-Xis yelled, "Let's get this over with!"

While the two of us began to fight, Crystal stared intently.

"Mega Man..." Crystal mumbled.

"Hm? What's wrong, Crystal" Stella asked.

Crystal was startled for a moment. "Nothing... It's just..."

"Thinking of that legend your mother told you?"

"W-What?! How did-"

"Well, this guy you're looking at definitely isn't white. But hey, he's all we got so far, right? How about we find out who this guy is"

"You're right... Maybe... This "Mega Man" we are looking at could fade from blue to white... and be the hero my mother told me to find"

The wind grabbed me again and I was suddenly surrounded by white. I opened my eyes and I saw Crystal's mom floating towards me. When she was in front of me, she touched my face with her hands. I noticed that she looked worried but happy at the same time.

"Geo... Please... Save her..." She said.

"What? What do you mean?! Wait! Come back!"

* * *

Suddenly, my eyes opened and a bright light hurt my eyes. When my eyes readjusted to the light, I realized that I was in my hotel room, lying on my bed. Pat was to my side, hand on my shoulder as if he was shaking me awake.

"Oh, good, you're awake. I heard moaning from your room so I came in" Pat said, relieved.

"I was asleep?" I asked.

"Yeah, you knocked out on the couch in the middle of Friday Night Fright. So I carried you back to your room and threw you into your bed. You were asleep until I woke you up just now"

"Really? Then all of that was a dream..."

"Oh yeah, I was wondering if you were having a bad dream"

"Bad dream, why?"

"Because... you were crying in your sleep, too"

"What?"

I realized that my face felt weird, as if something wet dried on my face. I touched my face and saw that some residue from tears was on it.

"I... I was crying? That's strange... But I did have a weird dream"

"Really? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Actually... Yeah... I do"

After I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth and hair, and threw on some clothes, I went into the living room part of the room to find Pat sitting on one of the couches. On the coffee table was some hot chocolate and cookies. He smiled when he saw me.

"Hot chocolate! My favorite!" I said, happily.

"I knew you would want some, so I did my job of snack-gathering and got some hot chocolate from downstairs. Also, I found these really good cookies!"

So I sat down and began to take a sip of my hot chocolate. It was really hot but it tasted so good! I put my mug back down on the table.

"So you're going to tell me about this weird dream of yours?"

I ended up telling Pat about everything, from the good parts to the bad of the dream I had. Something odd happened when Pat responded after hearing everything I said.

"This is odd. I had the same dream last night" Pat said.

I nearly choked on the cookie I was eating. "Really?"

"Yeah. At the end, that woman also told me to save her. But I can't figure out who I supposed to be saving and from what?"

"I figured that she was talking about Crystal"

"C-Crystal?!"  
"Yeah, you didn't here the woman call the little girl Crystal?"

"... Now that you say that... Yeah, the woman must be talking about Crystal" Pat laid a hand under his chin. "So if the woman is talking about Crystal, then what are we protecting Crystal from?"

Silence entered the room. We both were thinking about what was Crystal's mom talking about. Who is the real savior? Are there multiple? And who are we saving Crystal from? From the Star Hunters? Or ourselves? 

**[End AN: THANK YOU! JUST THANK FOR READING! :D ALL OF THE THANK YOUS GO TO YOU ANON READER! Anyway, I hope you really enjoyed this chapter. In my opinion, it sucks OTL However, you might think otherwise! And I want to know what you think! So read and review on your thoughts or feelings! Just don't spoil it for other readers, 'kay? I don't want any "ER MER GERD! I RIDN'T NO (insert spolier) HAPPND". Spoilers suck big time. Anyway, I am writing out the next chapter. The next one will be a fun chapter, so don't except anything really serious to happen. But expect to laugh!**

**Sam2daXD signing out!]**


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